The Vatican is forming its own cricket team, which will be called St Peter's Cricket Club.

Despite the falling number of Christians, the number of christenings is still high and baby-naming ceremonies are becoming more popular.

An evangelist whose inspirational autobiography has been labelled "99 per cent false" is here on a speaking tour - sparking a warning from some churches.

An attempt by Iran's reformist President, Hassan Rouhani, to abolish the chant "Death to America" as part of his drive to improve relations with the West has angered hardliners.

One of the largest remaining privately owned blocks of land in inner Auckland is for sale.

A New Zealand church has been let off the hook for forbidding a gay man from becoming a priest.

As a concession to belt-tightening, the decision by a sybaritic German bishop to take a budget airline flight to Rome is looking like too little, too late.

After winning many hearts and minds with vows of change and personal deeds, Pope Francis' reform strategy moves into higher gear tomorrow.

Eight months after his notorious "Wogistan" anti-Muslim rant NZ First MP Richard Prosser says he received more messages of support than of criticism.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has broken his self-imposed silence with a lengthy letter to a prominent atheist.

Over the past week, there have been two devastating terror attacks.

Parliament will today amend a century-old trust which was set up to convert Maori to Christianity and evangelise to "heathen races'' all over the world.

The Pope has claimed that big business' worship of money is causing misery and despair for ordinary people, in one of his strongest attacks yet on the global economic system.

An Auckland father who says his daughter was told during religious instruction that she would go to hell is campaigning to have the classes dropped from her state school.

Pope Francis has declared himself a "sinner" and said the Catholic Church will "fall like a house of cards" unless it is able to focus more on the "essentials" of preaching the Gospel and less on politics and bureaucracy.

Michael Hewat's opinion piece on Islam makes two bold demands.

Britain's leading Muslim organisation isn't happy with a judge's landmark ruling that women should not give evidence in court while wearing the veil.

He was cleared of sexual misconduct in a criminal trial, but a Korean pastor says he's being victimised by the Presbyterian Church of NZ.

New Zealand's Catholic Church says it will "reflect" on a decision by Auckland Anglicans to sell out of all fossil fuel investments within two years.

A defiant deposed Presbyterian Korean pastor has vowed to continue leading church services despite being barred for sexual misconduct and abuse.

A senior pastor who founded the Korean Presbyterian Church of Auckland will be struck off the ministerial roll after an internal church investigation found him guilty of sexual misconduct and abuse.

A former Catholic brother today has an appeal hearing against a judge's decision to have him extradited to Australia to face 252 sexual abuse charges.

For most of us, the sunset at 6.03pm tonight will be unremarkable, but not so for the 450 families who make up the Auckland Hebrew Congregation.

A photo of the Pope posing with young fans at the Vatican has gone viral on social media, with gleeful reports that it was the first ever "Papal selfie".

A former Scientologist has claimed she was one of several women "auditioned" as a potential wife for the actor and Scientology stalwart Tom Cruise.

Egypt's descent into violent chaos entered a new phase yesterday as the military-backed Government suggested it planned to ban the Muslim Brotherhood.

Anjum Rahman is gaining support in her bid to become the first Muslim woman elected to public office in New Zealand.

The head of New Zealand's third-largest church has asked its ministers to consider a temporary ban on gay marriages to preserve the church's "peace and unity".