New Zealand

Homeless squeezed between housing crisis and support clampdown

Each day in New Zealand 30,000 people are sleeping rough on city streets and in parks – about the same number as the population of Ashburton. Thousands more are couch surfing, living in vehicles and constantly moving through a series of short-term temporary accommodation. The latest statistics released showed that New Zealand has about 102,000 Read more

Op shop marks 50 years helping pregnant women and families

Opening an op shop was exactly what a group of Pregnancy Help volunteers decided they needed to fund their service for pregnant women and their families. That was fifty years ago. The shop’s 50th anniversary this week was marked with volunteers old and new from Levin’s Uniting Church getting together to celebrate and reflect on Read more

Analysis and Comment

An end to the Roman Church?

Church

Most of us have grown up in a highly centralised European “Catholic” Church, and so we feel uncomfortable with many of the changes being promoted by Pope Francis. After his visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore last month, Francis was heard to remark that “some people are still too Eurocentric” when they Read more

Bishop Anthony Randazzo synod address lights up concerns

liturgy

Bishop Anthony Randazzo’s address, delivered as President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops conferences of Oceania to the synod media on October 6th, 2024, brought to light several crucial concerns. The significance of his address cannot be overstated, as it sheds light on key issues that demand our attention not only around his two niche Read more

Can a ‘Synodal Church’ exist under Papal Primacy?

As the last session of the Synod on Synodality continues its second week, an interview published on Tuesday gives more insight on Pope Francis’s vision of the role of synodality in the Church today. It highlights some of the inherent tensions between the use of synods and the power of the papacy in modern Catholicism. Read more

Mental health among youth a growing concern since COVID-19

mental health

Since the COVID-19 crisis, there have been increasing concerns about the deterioration of mental health among teenagers and young adults. From surveys to reports, the statistics on young people’s mental health seem to depict a generation in distress—sad, anxious and discouraged. Professor Ludovic Gicquel, head of the child and adolescent psychiatry department at Laborit Hospital Read more

Mosgiel Seminary won’t be revived by social enterprise project

The Dunedin diocese has blocked a proposal to transform the historic Holy Cross Mosgiel Seminary into a natural health and sustainability centre. The move ends efforts by a local charity to revitalise the 150-year-old complex. The plan, developed by Taste Nature Social Enterprise and chaired by Clinton Chambers, sought to use the site for organic Read more

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  • Call for end to Church’s ‘lonely decisions’

    The Catholic Church must move towards collective decision-making, and “the time of lonely decisions in the Catholic Church is over” according to Synod advisor Thomas Söding. In an interview with Vatican News on Saturday, Söding stressed the importance of unity. “For us, deliberation and decision-making belong together. For us, commonality in decision-making is also part Read more

  • Pope Francis calls for unity among Christians despite differences

    unity among Christians

    Pope Francis has called for unity among Christians, urging reconciliation between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants while reflecting on the centuries-old “Filioque” dispute that has divided Western and Eastern Christians. During his general audience on 16 October, Pope Francis focused on the Nicene Creed, recited by Catholics during Mass. He reflected on the addition of the Read more

  • Pope Francis meets with transgender and intersex Catholics

    transgender and intersex Catholics

    Pope Francis recently met with a group of 11 transgender and intersex Catholics, including LGBTQ+ allies, in a 90-minute audience in the Vatican City. The meeting, facilitated by Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, centred on the personal testimonies of five individuals about their experiences as transgender and intersex Catholics. One of the Read more

  • Decentralisation of Church – decisive moment for Synod

    The Synod on Synodality is now considering what is shaping up to be among its most contentious points: decentralising and regionalising church decision-making structures. One suggested option is to establish continental advisory and decision-making bodies with their own rules alongside or in addition to the existing national bishops’ conferences. This authority-sharing might even involve deciding Read more

  • Call to sterilise the homeless meets Church opposition

    A controversial motion suggests that the sterilisation of homeless people has been approved by the city council of Curitiba in Brazil. Councillor Eder Borges of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party introduced the motion, arguing it would address issues related to homelessness and substance abuse. However critics have labelled the proposal as “eugenicist” and “Nazi”. Read more