The Salvation Army is concerned that the Government’s Health Response Bill, designed to empower police to deal with breaches of Covid-19 alert level 2 rules, does not consider spiritual wellbeing alongside physical wellbeing. The Army considers Sunday church services an ‘essential service’, as they offer spiritual health; a vital component of wellbeing. They say that Read more
“Where’s the beef?” is a catchphrase phrase that originated as a slogan for a fast-food chain. Since then it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event or product. Some are asking where’s the beef in the contention that religious events are riskier than other social occasions? There is no clear Read more
Two of New Zealand’s religious leaders agree that the progress made in getting on to of SARS-CoV-2 should not be put at risk. But they are asking the government to just let them know about any perceived weaknesses in the practice of religion so that they can fix them. The president of the New Zealand Read more
Pope Francis joined an inter-faith day of prayer on Thursday to call on God to end the coronavirus pandemic, brushing aside criticism from ultra-conservative Catholic groups, with one accusing him of associating with “infidels”. A multi-faith committee formed after the pope’s historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula last year came up with the proposal that Read more
The small Middle Eastern nation of Qatar now has one of the world’s most strict coronavirus restrictions. Those who go out in public without a face covering now face up to three years in prison and a fine of about $40,000. The Gulf country made the announcement on Qatar state TV this weekend. Authorities have Read more
A pandemic being fought with a lockdown imposed on the whole population affects all areas of life. Organised religion normally involves congregations gathering, the word ‘church’ is based on the word ‘assembly’. The respiratory virus can spread with disastrous effects in a closely packed crowd and for very good reasons public gatherings were banned during Read more
While to a certain degree returning to “business as usual” will not likely happen, that does not mean the vast majority of humanity; those who hold most of the world’s wealth and power will not use every advantage at their deposal in trying to hold onto broken, corrupt, unjust systems – what St. Pope John Read more
Helping poor and jobless people is one of the ways the Catholic Church is planning to help resolve the post-pandemic fallout, Vatican official Father Augusto Zampini says. Helping these people is not a form of socialism, it’s Church teaching. Zampini says the Church’s advocacy for the poor has resulted in some people accusing it of Read more
In his Monday press conference, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the director-general of health, addressed the concern that has been expressed over the weekend by church leaders and others about church gatherings still being capped at a maximum of 10 people. Bloomfield defended limits on the size of faith-based gatherings. Allowing churches to have larger gatherings was Read more
A Kenyan bishop said testing potential coronavirus vaccines on his countrymen could disrespect human dignity, and amount to a breach of the country’s constitution, especially if Kenyans are not fully informed of the risks involved in testing new drugs. “Whereas the Covid-19 pandemic is a grave matter at hand, it should not in any way Read more