More leave German RC Church than are baptised
STATISTICS from the Roman Catholic Church in Germany suggest that, last year, more people left the Church than were baptised into it. A total of 181,193 people died or left the Church, while 170,339 were baptised. There were also 3576 newcomers, and more than 7400 returning members.
New law may alleviate NZ clergy shortage
CHANGES to the law in New Zealand will allow migrant religious workers to become permanent residents, after complaints that the current system discriminated against people with a “calling” to ministry. It is hoped that the changes could help reduce clergy shortages, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church, as more than a quarter of its priests in New Zealand come from abroad.
American nun who became priest dies
THE Revd Mary Michael Simpson, the first Episcopalian nun to be ordained priest, who is also believed to be the first ordained woman to have preached in Westminster Abbey, died on 20 July in Augusta, Georgia, in the United States. She was 85.
Patriarch calls for Russian-Georgian reconciliation
PATRIARCH ILIA II of the Georgian Orthodox Church has called for reconciliation between Georgia and Russia after the dispute between the two countries in August 2008. Patriarch Ilia called for the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill I, to do “everything possible to restore friendship and fraternity among our nations and states”.