A religious ruling that bans Muslim men in Russia from marrying non-Muslim women sparked backlash from senior Muslim clerics across the country this week. The ruling by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (DUM)’s advisory council of scholars says that interfaith marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women are allowed “in isolated cases” that Read more
Pope Francis has offered US president-elect Joe Biden his “blessings and congratulations”, during a phone call Thursday morning. Biden, of Irish heritage, will be the second Catholic president of the United States. John F. Kennedy, who was elected in 1960 and also of Irish descent, was the country’s first Catholic president. Matteo Bruni, the director Read more
The Church-created Kiwi prayer app is now available for iOS. McLeod says the project has been a major labour of love that is deceptively complicated to create and maintain. “It’s not an exhaustive source of all information in these areas, but rather takes snapshots and encourages people to seek a moment to reflect, pray and Read more
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, head of the Comece association of Catholic bishops in the European Union, said recent Islamist terror attacks must not divide religious communities in Europe. “If the objective of the terrorists is to divide us, we all together – the countries of the European Union but also Christians, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Jews – Read more
As part of its long-running efforts to respect the environment and reduce its use of resources, the Vatican said it was gradually trying to replace all its service vehicles with an all-electric fleet. “Soon we will start collaborating with automobile manufacturers who are able to provide electrical vehicles for evaluation,” said Roberto Mignucci, director of Read more
Vodafone NZ has passed a significant milestone in its corporate philanthropy efforts, having supported more than 1000 charitable organisations since 2002 with donations totalling over $43 million, making the digital services provider one of the largest corporate philanthropic donors in Aotearoa. According to Philanthropy New Zealand, Vodafone “offers a great example of how businesses in Read more
A building in Rome owned by a convent will be used as a reception centre for up to 60 asylum seekers, the chaplain responsible for the Vatican’s charitable works announced Monday. Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, dubbed Pope Francis’s “Robin Hood” by the Italian press, said in a statement that the centre would welcome single women, Read more
Gloriavale workers have suffered lost fingers, falls, chemical burns and been overcome with toxic fumes in a series of incidents since 2016. However, the Government’s workplace safety watchdog ruled the incidents did not meet the “minimum threshold for formal investigation.” It comes after reports some members of the West Coast Christian community were forced to Read more
Ancient intellects are now being guarded by artificial intelligence following moves to protect one of the most extraordinary collections of historical manuscripts and documents in the world from cyber-attacks. The Vatican Apostolic Library, which holds 80,000 documents of immense importance and immeasurable value, including the oldest surviving copy of the Bible and drawings and writings Read more
The first batch of refugees to arrive in the country since the border closed have now completed managed isolation. The 16 asylum seekers were prioritised as emergency cases because of a perceived high risk of death, jail, or expulsion from their own countries. As many as 1000 more refugees, approved to come to New Zealand Read more