The chief executive of Save the Children Australia has advised international aid charities to innovate now to survive Covid-19. Paul Ronalds was presenting virtually at an event hosted by New Zealand’s Council for International Development. Read more
Posts Tagged ‘COVID-19’
The masses return to church in Samoa
Thursday, May 7th, 2020After nearly two months of not hearing church choirs singing hymns due to Covid-19 restrictions, Samoans piled into church buildings Sunday morning in unusually large numbers. The streets were again whitewashed with flashy Sunday best attire. Inside one church in Apia, there was initial trepidation as parishioners looked around to see who would be the Read more
Why religion will look different
Monday, May 4th, 2020
Religion is always implicated in times of crisis in manifold ways. Although the present Covid-19 pandemic is still in its early stages, we already see significant religious responses from across New Zealand. But religion doesn’t merely respond to a crisis, it is also reconfigured in the process. Beyond the familiar To understand these reconfigurations, it Read more
We are suffering a crisis of imagination in the church and world
Monday, May 4th, 2020
One common refrain I have heard frequently (and even said myself) over the last six weeks of the pandemic shutdown has been: “I could never have imagined something like this!” This is a sentiment that makes perfect sense to me. Our current reality is one that is hard to anticipate in its particularity — pace Read more
“Take-out” communion is “insane”
Monday, May 4th, 2020
Many Catholic bishops are discussing the practical aspects of resuming public Masses, now the initial coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions are easing. One of their concerns is what to do about distributing communion, which is considered a “high risk of contagion” moment. Cardinal Robert Sarah, (pictured) who is the head of the Vatican’s liturgical office, has Read more
Pope’s charity helps transgender prostitutes
Monday, May 4th, 2020
The Pope’s charity is helping transgender sex workers left without income due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. It all started two weeks ago, when a trans woman asked Fr Andrea Conocchia for help. He gave her food and basic supplies from the care packages. The day after, the woman returned with a friend – then Read more
Germany’s churches open but with restrictions
Monday, May 4th, 2020
Many of Germany’s churches have reopened as the country begins to ease the past six weeks’ coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. Everyone attending services must wear masks and stay apart from each other. No singing is permitted. As well as extra hygiene requirements, members of the congregation have to sit in designated seats 1.5 meters apart. All Read more
Contact your diocese’s education office if attendance dues an issue
Monday, May 4th, 2020
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and the NZ Catholic Education Office have written to the families of pupils attending Catholic schools urging them to contact the education/school office at their local Diocese if they have problems paying attendance dues because of issues related to the COVID-19 Lockdown. The letter says the bishops are “mindful of Read more
All students and staff at Marist College asked to get tested
Monday, May 4th, 2020
All students and staff at Auckland’s Marist College are being urged to get tested for Covid-19. Vouchers that will enable them to get a test will be given out this week. The decision was made over the weekend, school principal Raechelle Taulu, the board of trustees chairman Stephen Dallow and Dr Julia Peters of the Read more
Cambodia’s government accused of rights violations under pandemic cover
Monday, May 4th, 2020Cambodia’s government has been using the coronavirus pandemic as a cover to make arbitrary arrests of opposition political leaders and its critics, says a US-based human rights organization. The government has detained at least 30 people for spreading “fake news” since the start of the outbreak in the country in January, New York-based Human Rights Read more