Latifa Nabizada’s daughter often goes to work with her helicopter pilot mum. Malalai has flown over 300 missions because the Afghan air force has no childcare facility. Family friendly workplaces take on a whole new dimension when going to work with a parent means heading to the frontline. In some ways Latifa’s story is heroic. Read more
A pregnant teenager is questioning why students are being taught about sex when they are so young, especially given sex isn’t legal until the age of 16. Amber-Leigh Erasmus, who is now 17, is due to give birth to her first child on Saturday, a result of having unprotected sex during New Year celebrations. Amber-Leigh Read more
Tonga 31-18 Japan; Tonga slew the giant. But Japan is a gentle giant and champion in terms of social justice and equality They may have lost the game but they gets the trophy for off-the-field fairness. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand’s rankings rate Japan champion in terms of social justice and equality. While being one of Read more
Ever since the spectre of an exploited and exhausting planet has become a visible and ever-growing reality, the Catholic Church has been an advocate for the environment, in the forefront of tolling again and again a tocsin of impending catastrophe unless the greed that ravishes the fragile harmony that unites our earth is contained and reversed, says Read more
Jim Consedine’s article “With Joy- Filled Hearts”, recently won the Australasian Religious Press Association’s Gold award for the best story on Social Justice. The article was about the trial of the Waihopai Three, priest Peter Murnane, teacher Adrian Leason and farmer Sam Land who had broken in to the Waihopai spy base in 2008 and slashed Read more
At a meeting of Two Samoan congregations who had met to talk about some of the suicide facts and myths, “There was a discussion of what Samoan culture and church mean to a young NZ-born Samoan, which brought out interesting conversation,” writes Mangnum Tuipulotu, Some of the issues raised by the youth at the so’o which Read more
Mike MacLachlan’s blog about the new Missal which was posted on ucanews.com and was also featured in CathNews New Zealand, attracted a lot of reaction – much of it unfavorable. So they gave him the opportunity to answer some of his critics. “I must apologise for causing such apoplexy among our readers,” said Mike – Read more
Minsters of religion may not figure so prominently in civil ceremonies as they once did, but God, seems to be irrepressible. Public blessings and prayers are bursting out all over. In the USA, and worldwide there has been an extraordinary outpouring of prayer In his column Brian Rudman points out that God is getting in again via the Read more
Naive credulity is dangerous in any field of knowledge. The claims science and religion both require legitimate scrutiny. Being a person of faith does not exclude the legitimate scrutiny of the claims made in the name of religion. Failing to do so can give rise to cults, persecutions and the destruction of human dignity. Science is not without its own of deceptions and dangerous and falsities. Being Read more
The time is quickly approaching for the official introduction of the new translation of the Mass. The timing is left to individual bishops’ conferences but by Advent it will be in use worldwide. After much heated controversy it started in the UK this Sunday. I was at first surprised at the controversy and surprised by Read more