Prof David Tombs

‘Gravedigger Bob’ teaches us about being a faithful follower to the end The life and death of a dog in a Brazilian cemetery tells a wider story  David Tombs writes. Josh Billings, a contemporary of Mark Twain, once said...

My piece in today's Otago Daily Times...
www.odt.co.nz/opinion/%E2%...

Delighted that this article is now available and very grateful to the journal Neotestamentica for publication. The Abstract is publicly available at the Project Muse link below but a Neotestamentica subscription is required for the full article, doi.org/10.1353/neo....

Abusos eclesiales en América Latina. Una crisis en el corazón del catolicismo El libro se centra en América Latina, la región con mayor número de católicos en el mundo, y muestra cómo los abusos cometidos dentro de la Iglesia Católica forman parte de una problemática global que...

This book 'Abuse in the Latin American Church' previously published in English by Routledge is now also available in Spanish (published by PUCP). It includes a chapter by Rocío Figueroa and myself on Sodalicio.
www.fondoeditorial.pucp.edu.pe/categorias/1...

‘These men think they’ve done nothing wrong’: the philosopher who tried to understand Gisèle Pelicot’s rapists When 50 men went on trial in France, accused of raping a woman who had been drugged by her husband, Manon Garcia was in the courtroom – and in the prosecutors’ closing arguments. How does she make sen...

‘It is so rare, in fact it never happens, that crimes are so well documented’ Manon Garcia

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Religion & Violence – A Day of Events (8 October 2025, University of Leeds) <!-- wp:paragraph --> The Shiloh Project is featured in a recent profile on research at Leeds! See here. <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> And we now have an itinerary

Great day of sharing research coming up in Leeds on 8 October.
shilohproject.blog/religion-vio...

Huge thanks to Prof. Dr. Manfred L. Pirner
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg for the video.

Am reading the ebook and learning a lot. Highly recommended.

Conference of the Global Network of Public Theology 2025 YouTube video by RUPRE

This week has been early mornings to co-chair sessions in the 'Gendered and Queer Readings of Scripture' working group at the Global Network of Public Theology, hosted by Fuller, and timed for 4am-6:45am in Aotearoa. I learnt a lot and glad to now sleep.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=moie...

New Māori queen brings hope for New Zealand in first speech: ‘Being Māori is forever’ In her first public address, Nga wai hono i te po spoke of unity and said Māori must ‘walk a new path’

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

40 years of “Brasil: Nunca Mais” The year 2025 marks 40 years since the launch of “Brasil: Nunca Mais” (Brazil: Never Again) a book in which episodes of torture under the military dictatorship in Brazil between 1964 and 1979 are docu...

www.oikoumene.org/news/40-year...

He speaks of ‘A moral duty to speak the truth.’

Prof Halim Rane delivers the 2025 Peace Lecture at University Otago hosted by the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group with the Otago Tertiary Chaplaincy.

Here’s our new Film! Rape Culture and the Bible: Scholars Reflect <!-- wp:paragraph --> Today's post is by Barbara Thiede. Barbara is the editor of a forthcoming book with the title Rape Culture and the Bible: Scholars Reflect (Routledge Focus). The

Wonderful new free film resource on Rape Culture and the Bible now available, linked to forthcoming open access Routledge book edited by Barbara Thiede.
shilohproject.blog/heres-our-ne...

Christianity | 4 | Accompanying Survivors of Sexual Harm: Responses, A This chapter begins with a call for churches to resist tokenism and to address abuse in Christian communities seriously and concertedly. From there, it focuses

Delighted to have this chapter with Emily Colgan ‘Christianity: Accompanying Survivors of Sexual Harm: Responses, Activism, and Resistance to Sexual Harm within Christian Contexts’ published in a fantastic Open Access volume edited by Johanna Stiebert.
doi.org/10.4324/9781...

Victims of Peru group mark victory, but lament slow pace of justice Three months after the formal suppression of all branches of a Peru-based lay group, victims are both celebrating some significant victories, while also lamenting the slow pace of ecclesial justice.

'On July 16, the Association for Truth, Justice and Fair Reparations (AVJR), which consists of former members of all four branches of the SCV family, issued a statement ... urging Pope Leo XIV to ensure that reparations are swift.' cruxnow.com/church-in-th...

Wrapping up a wonderful sequence of conferences in Rome, Regensburg, and Melbourne, with a day to catch up on emails and reading in Victoria State Library. A fabulous space (and great cafe).

Syria: Torture survivors of Saydnaya and other detention centres grappling with devastating needs and minimal support Six months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, survivors of its brutal detention system, including the infamous Saydnaya military prison, are grappling with devastating physical a...

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Expert: Religious show courage helping others, fear standing up for self - OSV News Women religious need proactive and effective support from their superiors, safe spaces for reporting allegations and training in safeguarding from the very start of their formation, said Sister Nirmal...

www.osvnews.com/expert-relig...

Sr Nirmala Nazareth speaking at ISC 2025 at Gregorian University.

‘Empathy is a kind of strength’: Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America Young, progressive and relatable, the former prime minister of New Zealand tried to do politics differently. But six years into power, she dramatically resigned. In an exclusive interview with the Gua...

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Catholic nun in Africa urges Church to address sexual abuse of women religious In the face of histories of abuse and cover-up by the Church, a Catholic nun in Zambia has challenged Church leaders to stem the tide of abuse against women religious wherever and whenever it happens.

‘There is little research that has been done concerning the issue, but Siabana says it doesn’t mean abuse doesn’t exist on the continent.’ Sister Linah Siabana (by Ngala Killian Chimtom)

cruxnow.com/church-in-af...

Peru abuse victims applaud Vatican mission, request meeting with Pope Former members of a now-suppressed, scandal-plagued Peruvian lay group and peasants who claim to have been routinely harassed by them have for the first time issued a joint call for justice, reparatio...

'They thanked Pope Francis for “not having looked the other way” in sending the Special Mission and they also thanked Pope Leo XIV for his support of SCV victims' Elise Ann Allen
cruxnow.com/church-in-th...

Nordic churches express solidarity with those suffering in Gaza Nordic churches—including the those in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Finland—have released statements calling for restoring the ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, releasing hostages, deliv...

www.oikoumene.org/news/nordic-...

Watching a bit later in NZ and what a great result.

Rebecca Lowe: Palace are my lifelong love. Winning the Cup would mean everything

www.nytimes.com/athletic/633...

New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Dr. Rocio Figueroa, a Peruvian theologian from Te Kupenga Theological College, shares her thoughts on our new Pope in this interview with BBC News.

In remarks to BBC last week, Rocío Figueroa comments on the Sodalicio connections behind the complaints against Pope Leo XIV during his time in Peru, www.facebook.com/CatholicNZ/p...

In a divided world, new Pope signals a turn towards unity and communion Comment from the University of Otago: Pope Leo XIV's moral and pastoral concern has consistently been on the unity of the Christian church, and the obligation to help any human being in need

Another excellent piece, by my colleague @universityofotago.bsky.social Greg Marcar for @newsroom.co.nz
newsroom.co.nz/2025/05/13/i...

The Anglican bishop who took on sexual abuse in the church When Greg Thompson became bishop of Newcastle, he refused to turn a blind eye to the decades-long child sex abuse scandals in the diocese. For him, it was personal. He was himself a sexual abuse survi...

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05...

Survivors, experts, advocates decry accused prelate’s presence at pre-conclave meetings Survivors of clerical abuse, experts in child protection and victim advocacy groups have collectively decried the presence of a Peruvian cardinal accused of and punished for abusing a minor during pre...

‘Accountability must mean more than gestures; it must be real, decisive, and consistent’, Juan Carlos Cruz in piece by Elise Ann Allen

cruxnow.com/vatican/2025...

‘They disappear them’: families of the detained see grim echo of Latin American dictatorships in Trump’s US Mounting stories of ‘forced disappearances’ of Venezuelans in the US have left their loved ones distraught and disbelieving

'They disappear them'
theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It is many years since I wrote on forced disappearances and the cross in Latin America, and I never expected to be reading headlines like this for the US. My chapter 'He is not here' available at david-tombs.com/2000-2009/#2...