A Catholic college principal is standing by his board’s refusal to apologise to the family of a student he excluded for marijuana use despite the Ombudsman ordering him to do so. “Marijuana buying and using is an illegal activity – we hold the view, as many schools do, that this has no place in our Read more
The leaders of the Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer are taking legal action over their expulsion from the Christchurch Catholic diocese, reports Sinead Gill in The Press. Last month a Vatican investigation into abuse and unauthorised exorcism allegations recommended Christchurch’s Catholic bishop Michael Gielen ban the Order from performing Mass in the diocese. The Read more
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s final report has changed the Catholic Church in New Zealand, says Palmerston North diocese’s Catholic bishop John Adams. Adams (pictured) chose to speak to media about the report so he could put a face to the Church’s response to the Royal Commission’s findings. The Royal Commission Read more
Marlborough’s Catholic parish has no idea if or when its two new priests will be able to live and serve in New Zealand. Based at St Mary’s in Blenheim, Star of the Sea parish has gone without a permanent priest for over six months. Their last priest was Father Michael McCabe who retired in January. Read more
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