The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the Catholic Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa NZ have welcomed the final report of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care. The “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light” report was made public on Wednesday afternoon after being tabled in Parliament. The bishops and congregational Read more
Abuse in church contexts “has been a widespread problem” that is now being dealt with, according to Professor David Tombs, the Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues at the University of Otago. It’s been prevalent in the Catholic Church, in other churches and within wider society, he says. Tomb’s view is shared by Read more
Combating modern slavery is taking a back seat in New Zealand. Proposed legislation will not now go ahead. The Government has also disbanded a group set up to provide advice on this international crime. Members of the former Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group say that, by failing to act, New Zealand will fall behind its Read more
Study groups at October’s second synod assembly in Rome will look closely at several hot-button issues identified at last year’s synod. Women deacons, the ministry of bishops, and synodal formation for future priests are some of these issues. Mainly male groups, none local The Vatican says 15 study groups will work together to tease out Read more
The working paper for this October’s synod of bishops in Rome has been published, the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) says. The Vatican-published document – called the Instrumentum Laboris (or Working Instrument) – is based on 108 national summaries of bishops’ conferences from around the world presented to the General Secretariat. It is not a Read more
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has been found guilty of schism and excommunicated, the Vatican’s doctrinal office says. He was the papal nuncio in Washington from 2011-2016. In 2018 Viganò reportedly hid after alleging Pope Francis and other senior clerics knew of US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct for years and did nothing about it. He Read more
Bishop Paul Donoghue was sent off in style from his 13-year term as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rarotonga. Tears flowed as the bishop led the procession in St Joseph’s Cathedral for the final time last Sunday. 80-year old Akava Toki (pictured) was one whose eyes glistened with tears of thankfulness and sadness as Read more
Auckland’s Catholic diocese has bought a landmark Auckland winery famous for its summer music concerts. At a time when many parish churches are closing, the diocese is bucking the trend: it bought the 6.23ha Ascension Wine Estate for a new church and community centre. The parish and diocese have been looking for the better part Read more
Abortion was one topic New Zealand student Seamus Lohrey quizzed the Pope on during an online forum last Thursday. He was one of 12 students from the Asia-Pacific region who shared young people’s concerns with the Pope during the online “Building Bridges” forum. Organised by Loyola University Chicago, the forum was designed to enable Pope Read more
Global Catholic charity Caritas Internationalis is appealing for help. It needs to raise US$7 million to aid Rohingya refugees. The refugees are victims of conflicts in Myanmar. “We must not forget the Rohingya people or take the support of the Bangladesh Government for granted” says Alistair Dutton, Caritas’s secretary general. Help the most vulnerable Rohingya Read more