Māori Catholic boys’ school, Hato Pāora College, celebrated its 75th jubilee over Labour Weekend. Generations of former students gathered to reminisce about their time at the celebrated school. As one past pupil said: “We are unique. We are the only Māori Catholic Boys College in the world! So let’s remember; let’s celebrate; let’s build a Read more
St Gerard’s, the former Redemptorist church and monastery and Wellington’s most imposing landscape building is likely to be sold, reports Wellington’s DomPost. A Wellington developer Richard Burrell, who has a reputation for restoring heritage buildings, is the likely purchaser. Should he be successful, Burrell intends to turn the building into a hotel. Pending due diligence Read more
The new pastoral guidelines concerning gender and sexuality are “groundbreaking”, says New Ways Ministry’s Robert Shine. Primarily targeting Catholic educators, “Aroha and Diversity in Catholic Schools” is the opposite of so many policies which have harmed students and upset school communities in recent years, Shine comments. The document clearly shows the bishops’ core concern is Read more
A surveillance firm banned from Facebook for spying on people has been enlisted by the New Zealand government. Most of the operations with Cobwebs Technologies are being kept secret, but one government organisation they are working with is Immigration NZ. Cobwebs was one of seven foreign companies accused in late 2021 by tech giant Meta Read more
Pope Francis has approved the statutes of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, giving it formal recognition in the church. “We are living a ‘kairos,’ a propitious time of God in the history of the church,” Amazon conference president Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno (pictured with the Pope) says. The now officially-recognised body “involves bishops, priests, Read more
The Catholic community’s multicultural population is continuing to grow and develop and this raises significant pastoral issues. These are the results of the Archdiocese of Wellington’s just-released two-year review of its ethnic communities. “The Review was a response to the recommendation from the 2017 Synod,” says Maya Bernardo, the Archdiocese’s Launch Out Programme Formator and Read more
Caring for people living with mental illness is something many of us may have to do at some stage. On 9 October, the Catholic Church in New Zealand marks “Support Life Sunday.” Dr John Kleinsman, Director of the Nathaniel Centre for bioethics, says it is important this year’s campaign helps people hear those who have Read more
The head of the Vatican synod office says both doctrinal concerns and pastoral considerations are important when it comes to hot-button issues. Questions about the reception of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and the blessing of same-sex couples are examples Cardinal Mario Grech (pictured) mentions. “These issues are not to be understood simply in Read more
Inviting an English Catholic cardinal to take part in the Queen’s funeral signals the new King’s openness to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster’s inclusion was the first time for hundreds of years a Catholic cardinal or bishop has had a role in a royal funeral. Nichols is the president of the Read more
Surrounding the church with landmines does not surprise Frank Bird (pictured). The New Zealand priest has just returned from the Myanmar-Thai border. Landmines surround a Catholic church in Myanmar. Before mining it, the military had been using the church as a kitchen. The military junta’s mining of the Mother of God church in Mobye, a Read more