The Catholic Church throughout New Zealand made serious mistakes in its approach to Māori, and using te reo during Eucharist helps us become more inclusive even in our daily lives. The comments about parish sacramental celebrations come from Palmerston North’s Bishop emeritus, Peter Cullinane, in an article published in Tui Motu. Citing examples of the Read more
If the “engine” of a parish involves mobilising the laity and harvesting their gifts, running parishes at higher capacities would be the norm. At present, the engine running parishes is running low – at about five per cent capacity. That’s what Canada’s Fr James Mallon, author of “Divine Renovation — From Maintenance to a Missional Church” and Read more
Pope Francis is urging 20 Italian Bishops to seek ways to revitalize their pastoral care in areas facing depopulation, marginalization, and economic difficulty. The pope is asking Bishops to overcome “nostalgia for the past” and take bold steps to be a consoling presence in places where hardship is abound. Parishes, he added, should become training Read more
Today the most common experience of church and Christian community is in a parish. In many dioceses and archdioceses, parishes are being clustered into pastoral areas,2 and often the number of Masses in these pastoral areas is being rationalised and timed so that it is easier for neighbouring priests to celebrate Masses in the other Read more
The German bishops, planning to talk with the Vatican about parish reform want laity included in the discussion. News of the move came after a meeting of the bishops’ conference 27 member Permanent Council, reports the German Catholic news agency KNA. The Conference’s permanent council says Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg (pictured), would “accept the Read more
Catholic communities in a northwestern Vietnamese province which refused to accept religions have had their legal status approved by the government after a decades-long wait. On Aug. 21, Lai Chau provincial authorities announced that they had officially allowed Hung Hoa Diocese to establish Lai Chau Parish based in San Thang commune in Lai Chau city. Read more
I am frustrated by the Vatican’s recent instruction on “The pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the church,” issued on July 20. At first, the document evokes an expansive vision of parish transformation by citing Pope Francis’ call for “creativity” in “seeking how best to proclaim the Read more
The new parish instructions could the the subject of a discussion at the Vatican, if German bishops want to air their views about them, says Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. Stella (pictured), whose congregation issued the new parish instructions last month, says he would be pleased to receive the bishops Read more
Will people come back? That’s the question on the minds of parish leaders in the 17,000 American Catholic churches as the U.S. begins a return to a new normal post-pandemic life. There are no guarantees, say Marti Jewell and Mark Mogilka, authors of “Open Wide the Doors to Christ: A Study of Catholic Social Innovation Read more
Well, I guess we have had just about everything here in Christchurch since September 4, 2010. Two years of death-defying earthquakes then the grief-stricken, the demolition, the dying, the rebuilding aftermath. Followed by March 15, 2019, with 51 people dying while at prayer in the mosques, and while we are prayerfully and painfully recovering ourselves, Read more