Cardinal John Dew recently joined protesters concerned about empty Housing New Zealand properties and growing urgent housing lists.
Dew told about 50 people at the protest on March 21 that 34,000 New Zealanders were either homeless or living in insecure homes.
Good quality, safe shelter was a basic human right and New Zealand had a shameful record of poverty-related illnesses with 250,000 children living in poverty, he said.
“Most Kiwis want someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work and something to hope for,” he said, quoting the late Norman Kirk.
“We know that many living in New Zealand today are hoping for work, many hope for a better place to live, or just somewhere to live.”
With good quality housing, family and community life, health and education became possible, he said.
Ensuring that right for all was every Christian’s duty. “It’s a clear part of our teaching that no-one has the right to more than they need if others don’t have enough,” he said.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington’s Justice Peace and Development Commission organised the event,which began at St Martin de Porres Church, in Avalon, and moved through the streets to Hampton Court where boarded up Housing New Zealand properties were scheduled for demolition.
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