I can see the headlines now: “Papal encyclical condemned as sexist.” Groan! Last month, Italian Bishop Domenico Pompili revealed that Pope Francis is preparing a new papal encyclical — the third of his papacy and his first in five years — to focus on the economic, environmental and spiritual change that is necessary to address Read more
The church at the centre of a coronavirus sub-cluster in Auckland now embroiled in controversy is tight-knit, secretive and highly devout, says a former member. He left the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship with his family several years ago and said the church met most nights for Bible study, did most activities together, and did not Read more
What traits do we look for in our leaders? Ask someone what distinguishes a forceful leader, in business or politics, and they’re likely to mention self-confidence and charisma. Great leaders, we say, are bold and strong-willed. They have a vision for creating something new or remaking a company or a country. They challenge conventional wisdom Read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wants New Zealand to be the best place in the world to grow up – but Unicef’s latest child wellbeing rankings have the country among the worst-performing in the developed world. Ardern insists progress is being made – and she points out that some of the data used in the damning Read more
My dad nearly died many times. He served as a RAF pilot during World War II when longevity was rare. Later, not long before I was born, he was badly injured in a civil air accident when his aircraft iced up. When I was three-years-old he had two engine failures in single-engine aircraft but successfully Read more
For the duration of the Democratic primary season, the abortion issue was off the table — largely because all the significant candidates were solidly in support of abortion rights. The one exception might have been Joe Biden, who has swum outside the party’s pro-choice mainstream, but last year he abandoned his longstanding support of the Read more
When Auckland went back into level three lockdown a month ago, many New Zealanders focused on the identity of the “South Auckland family” at the centre of the emerging cluster. I would have hoped that the team of five million would do their best to avoid conflating Covid-19 with racist stereotypes about South Auckland and Read more
Every 73 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S., which means it’s likely that you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence. Talking about sexual assault is hard. For many survivors, the reaction of the first person they disclose to, often a friend or family member can have a huge effect on their Read more
Ki a koutou te Hāhi Katorika o Aotearoa tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Recently French theologian, Anne Soupa, gained worldwide attention by applying for the position of Archbishop of Lyon. She has since been followed by other French women making themselves available for senior leadership roles in the Church. Also, in Switzerland Marianne Read more
For the last decade, church experts have been wrestling over the best ways to reach and retain “millennials,” which is a phrase the describes individuals born from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s. Data shows that many millennials leave the church during their college years, and some never return. The fastest-growing religious identifier among this generation is Read more