The New Zealand Catholic bishops have paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, saying Catholics are mourning Her Majesty.
The bishops describe the late Queen as “a remarkable woman who was our official Head of State for seven remarkable decades. She had grace, warmth and commitment in equal measure”.
The bishops reiterated Pope Francis’ tribute saying the Queen led a life of unstinting service, always showing devotion to duty and a steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and a firm hope in his promises.
They say Her Majesty’s reign began in 1952 when New Zealand was virtually a monocultural nation which looked to Britain as “home” and where most Māori, though admired, lived on the edges of Pakeha society.
The bishops note that on her very first Royal Tour, in 1953, Māori leaders had to struggle to get Waitangi and Tūrangawaewae Marae at Ngāruawāhia, the home of Kingitanga, added to her itinerary.
It was a time when, the bishops say, the Treaty of Waitangi was regarded as irrelevant.
“Today it (the Treaty) is central to political and public discourse, and the Māori renaissance, which began in the 1970s, has created extraordinary changes – welcomed by the Queen – in what has now become one of the most multicultural societies in the world,” said the bishops.
They note that in 1995, during one of her 10 official visits to Aotearoa New Zealand, Her Majesty personally signed the Royal Assent to the historic Waikato-Tainui Treaty Settlement bill passed by Parliament that year.
The statement concludes by acknowledging that most people in New Zealand have known no other monarch than Queen Elizabeth II, that she has been a constant in New Zealand’s remarkable progress.
“Hers has been an Elizabethan Age the like of which we may never see again.”
“E te Ariki, hoatu ki ā ia te okiokinga tonutanga. Ā, kia whiti ki ā ia te māramatanga mutunga kore. Kia okioki i runga i te rangimārie. Āmene. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.”
- Supplied
News category: New Zealand.
