Latest FromReligion and Beliefs
![Maori priest a rare voice](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Maori priest a rare voice
At yesterday's Palm Sunday service Pa Petera Tipene was causing a few of his female parishioners to run for the back ranks.
!['Unpredictable' pope worries security](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
'Unpredictable' pope worries security
The day after his election, Francis eschewed the Vatican's armored limousine and traveled through the chaotic streets of Rome in an ordinary car to pick up his things at a downtown hotel.
![Lovelorn Lebanese head to Cyprus](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Lovelorn Lebanese head to Cyprus
The Cyprus Airways flight from Beirut arrives at 9.15am, disgorging bankers and traders, shuttling between two of the Mediterranean's business hubs.
![New Pope wants church for poor](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
New Pope wants church for poor
As he walked on to the stage of the Vatican's vast Paul VI audience hall, Pope Francis was still wearing the white cassock, plain crucifix and black shoes that have characterised his fledgling papacy's pared-down aesthetic.
![Catholics elect Pope Francis](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Catholics elect Pope Francis
White smoke has billowed from a Sistine Chapel chimney to show that a new pope has been elected to replace the frail Benedict XVI as leader of the world's 1.2 billon Catholics.
![Anti-gay marriage leaflets distributed in Auckland](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Anti-gay marriage leaflets distributed in Auckland
Opponents of same-sex marriage are being slammed for distributing leaflets saying legalising the move will result in more incidences of AIDS and syphilis, and see the end of titles such as "husband and wife".
![Holy war from friends' row](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Holy war from friends' row
Christian communities across Pakistan have launched angry protests after a Muslim mob set fire to a Christian neighbourhood in Lahore.
![Churches urge MPs to protect opponents of gay marriage](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Churches urge MPs to protect opponents of gay marriage
Church leaders are making a last-minute appeal to MPs to protect teachers who believe marriage should only be between opposite sexes even if Louisa Wall's gay marriage bill is passed tomorrow.
![Blasphemy laws pose risk for minorities](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Blasphemy laws pose risk for minorities
Christian community leaders in Lahore say the violence unleashed on the Pakistani city's Joseph colony erupted after a drinking session involving two friends, one Muslim and the other Christian.
![Cardinals denied access to report](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Cardinals denied access to report
It is known throughout the Vatican as the Relatio (Narration). It is contained in two stiff, unmarked red folders and runs to around 300 pages.
![Lyndsay Freer: Cardinal factions line up for battle](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Lyndsay Freer: Cardinal factions line up for battle
Last week, the Herald featured a delightful cartoon by Guy Body, showing rows of small cloned cardinal lookalikes.
![Paul Thomas: Now it's the sex police who are the odd ones](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Paul Thomas: Now it's the sex police who are the odd ones
If we've learned anything from recent history, it's that people whose own sex lives are unedifying don't necessarily let that stop them damning others' proclivities.
![Joan Rivers' gag upsets Jews](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Joan Rivers' gag upsets Jews
Comic Joan Rivers has come under fire for comments she made about Jews during a segment on her controversial US style show Fashion Police.
![Douglas Pratt: Better to celebrate our differences](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Douglas Pratt: Better to celebrate our differences
There is a lot of hype surrounding the push for gay marriage in NZ, writes Douglas Pratt. Expectations of a momentous change are high.
![Sam Clements: Churches have no right to dictate what happens in a secular society](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Sam Clements: Churches have no right to dictate what happens in a secular society
Religion has always sought to manipulate and dictate the manner in which individuals live their lives, writes Sam Clements. The Marriage Equality Bill threatens many in the church.
![Gwynne Dyer: Saudi hand in Bahrain crackdown](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Gwynne Dyer: Saudi hand in Bahrain crackdown
No Western government is going to condemn the country's rulers, writes Gwynne Dyer. That would seriously annoy Saudi Arabia, and they will never do that.
![Jeff Tallon: Ebbing of Kiwis' faith defies belief](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Jeff Tallon: Ebbing of Kiwis' faith defies belief
We don't need a census to tell us that society is changing rapidly. But perhaps we do to quantify just how rapidly.
![Scandal hangs over cardinals](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Scandal hangs over cardinals
Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
![Destiny sells complex to Sallies](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Destiny sells complex to Sallies
The Salvation Army has bought the Destiny Church complex in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington and has its 12-storey building in Queen St up for sale.
![Behind the secrets of Scientology](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Behind the secrets of Scientology
Jenna Miscavige Hill was a third-generation Church of Scientologist. She escaped the secretive society and told her story to Nicky Park.
![Heartland of church in deep crisis](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
Heartland of church in deep crisis
Whoever takes the helm of the Vatican after the shock resignation of Benedict XVI will inherit a problem on his own doorstep.
![A look behind the secret world of Scientology](/pf/resources/images/placeholders/placeholder_l.png?d=793)
A look behind the secret world of Scientology
Ex-Scientologist Jenna Miscavige Hill has revealed the harsh reality of growing up in the Church. Read her story here.