New Zealand

Church helping homeless with mental health problems Comments 0

homeless

An Auckland church providing housing for the homeless for more than a decade has had an influx of people dealing with poor mental health. Faith Family Baptist Church in Panmure offers a 13-week programme to rehouse people in need. Numeracy and literacy classes and assistance with addiction and health were also included. Church kaumātua Tom Read more

Hui to prepare for Easter 2019 Comments 0

hui

Members of the Central Council (Te Kaunihera Matua) of the Māori Catholic Easter Meeting (called the Hui Aranga) met in Taranaki on Friday 12th October. After the meeting, the rangatahi section took a walk around part of Mt Taranaki. Part of the purpose of the Easter Hui Aranga is to engage young Māori in embracing who Read more

Analysis and Comment

Clericalism renders the baptised subservient to preening priests Comments 0

clericalism

Once every five years the priests in New Zealand meet nationally for a professional development week. This time it was in Christchurch. And the experience was seismic. No priest or Bishop could have left that week unshaken. The two input speakers – each very different from the other – shook us to the core. Take Read more

Coffee was “Satan’s brew” before Pope Clement VIII baptized it Comments 0

coffee

Most Americans begin their day with at least one nice, hot cup of coffee. The beverage is so widely used that it is estimated that 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed daily, worldwide. This suggests that a third of the world’s population relies on its tasty kick to help them through the day. What Read more

Making a difference Comments 0

difference

Saints Oscar Romero and Paul VI, two very different men, facing different sets of dire challenges with prophetic courage, faithfully journeyed along two different paths to the same destination: sainthood! Who would have predicted it? Who would have imagined on Feb. 23, 1977, the day of his appointment as Archbishop of San Salvador, that the Read more

Evangelisation isn’t getting people to fall in line—it’s getting them to fall in love Comments 0

evangelisation

Ours is an antinomian age. It is a time when people are “spiritual but not religious.” Young people especially are counted among the “nones” who, while believing in God, eschew the doctrines and communal bonds of traditional religion. It is a time of individualism and a distorted notion of conscience that, in practice, becomes indistinguishable Read more

Asia Pacific

Archbishop apologises for mistakes but poverty still a concern Comments 0

poverty

The archbishop of Fiji has admitted he had made some mistakes in the statistics he used in his recent statement. The figures were quoted in the church’s newsletter, The Proclaimer, in the main article titled “Pre-election homily reflection on economic justice.” Read more

Family violence – Council of Churches insulted by report’s findings Comments 0

family violence

Samoa’s National Council of Churches has described as “insulting” an Office of the Ombudsman report that blamed them for exacerbating family violence. The report says: Traditional village councils and the church have been complicit in maintaining the veil of silence Read more

Bishops set the record straight on Royal Commission Comments 0

commission

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops are seeking to set the record straight in response to recent reporting that the Church is backing away from actively seeking inclusion in the Government’s Inquiry. The Bishops and representation from Catholic Religious orders wrote to Prime Minister Ardern, Minister Martin and Sir Anand Satyanand in March this year. That Read more

  • Oddly

  • The Roman Rite is not the only Catholic Rite

    It may surprise most people to know that there are many different rites within the Catholic Church. All the rites of the Catholic Church are of equal dignity and equally valid. Attendance at a different rite fulfils the Sunday obligation. Read more