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The New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) welcomed the Church’s new Te Rōpū Māori to their November meeting.
The new group’s purpose is to work with the NZCBC on agenda items of importance to Katorika (Catholic) Māori.
“The aim is that they provide a well-grounded voice for Katorika Māori and work in partnership with the NZCBC, embodying a more synodal way for the Church,” Cardinal John Dew says.
Te Rōpū Māori’s inaugural delegates are from each of Aotearoa-New Zealand’s six dioceses,
They include both wahine and tane members: Manuel Beazley (Auckland), Father Gerard Paterson (Hamilton), Korty Wilson (Palmerston North), Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard (Wellington), Kathy Simmons (Christchurch) and Sharne Parkinson (Dunedin).
Dew says Te Rōpū Māori is in its early stages.
Its members would attend a scheduled meeting of the long-established Te Rūnanga o te Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa advisory group in February to reflect on refinements for the future.
The bishops have been wanting to establish a Māori group since a 2019 meeting they had with the long-established Te Rūnanga o te Hāhi Katorika ki Aotearoa.
They acknowledged the need for a Māori voice at the NZCBC meeting table and for a forum to be provided for Māori working in Māori Church communities to come together. It is a synodal way of doing things.
It’s not related to the 2023 Synod on Synodality, though.
The timeline to Te Rōpū Māori’s establishment shows the NZCBC was planning for it before the Pope announced the Synod, but organising it has been delayed by Covid restrictions on meetings.
During the NZCBC meetings Te Rōpū members sit at the same table as the bishops for discussions of relevance.
They may take part in these discussions. They were present, for instance, when the bishops heard from other agencies visiting the November meeting, including Caritas, Te Kupenga-Catholic Leadership Institute and the Catholic Education Office.
Te Rōpū Māori will attend relevant parts of each meeting of the bishops’ conference; the 2023 calendar shows four next year.
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