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Wednesday 22 February marked one year since the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Because it was Ash Wednesday, as well as joining a civic earthquake memorial service many Catholics also attended their own churches, or joined with other denominations to begin Lent by remembering and praying for those who died, were injured or have suffered as a result of Read more
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The earthquake of February 22 will still feel raw to most of us come Wednesday when we mark the first anniversary of that unforgettable day. We will all pause to commemorate the dead and remember the bereaved and the injured and all that has been lost. Then we will carry on as we know we Read more
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Expected increased insurance premiums for historic Dunedin churches have been likened to a “tsunami about to hit”. Dunedin diocese’s general manager Stuart Young said parishioners were ultimately the ones who would bear the costs of increased insurance premiums, brought about by the Christchurch earthquakes. “It is a tsunami about to hit us. We face a Read more
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In the aftermath of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, a Christian network is joining with Buddhists to provide bereavement services and prevent suicides, according to a Japanese interdenominational network. With the goal to offer counseling and spiritual support, the Sendai Buddhist Federation through the Miyagi Prefecture Liaison Council of Religious Corporations established a counseling Read more
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The nuclear disaster in Japan raises ethical questions about the future use of nuclear power according to Catholic scholars and other ethicists. The accident could be a “huge wake-up call” that “would give impetus to jump start research” in other energy technologies. While nuclear energy could be part of the solution to climate change because it does Read more
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Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has pledged NZ$10,000 towards Caritas relief efforts in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. Caritas Director Mike Smith says the pledge is one of solidarity with Japan.‘It also recognises the closer ties and empathy felt between Japan and New Zealand in the wake of recent deadly earthquakes that have afflicted both Read more
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Since God has nothing to do with the advent of earthquakes – or fires, floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions or tsunamis for that matter – I rather prefer the legal term “force majeure”, which defines “an event that is a result of the elements of nature, as opposed to one caused by human behaviour”. So after Read more
