The archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, was in Australia last week to present an address on Servant Leadership in the Spirit of Pope Francis. He spoke at Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta on Tuesday. On Wednesday he spoke on the same topic when he presented the Helder Camara Lecture at Newman College in Melbourne. Read more
New Zealanders tend to think there is little they can do about the detention of “kids in cages” on the southern borders of the United States. “But there’s actually a bunch of things you can do, even from here. We need not feel powerless,” says Thalia Kehoe Rowden writing in The Spinoff. “Here are some Read more
“Young people don’t feel particularly welcome” in many church communities, says Isabella McCafferty. She said young people are looking for an encounter with each other, with the church and with the sacraments, in ways that are relevant for them. It requires a willingness to “interlink with each other more and hold each other up.” McCafferty Read more
Jean Vanier who died earlier this year features a documentary being screened in New Zealand this month. Summer in the Forest Summer is a beautiful and moving study of this extraordinary man and the organisation he founded. Vanier founded L’Arche, a community based outside of Paris for individuals with developmental disabilities, in the 1960s. His goal Read more
The emeritus bishop of Palmerston North, Peter Cullinane, has written a letter to senior secondary school students. Entitled It’s All About Becoming, Cullinane says the letter is aimed at closing the gap that often exists between Church language and people’s lived experience. He believes it is easier for young people to experience the wonder and Read more
The first hospice to be established in New Zealand, Mary Potter hospice, this week celebrates its 40th anniversary. It was established by the Little Company of Mary to provide free-of-charge palliative care to the people of Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti. Sister Margaret Lancaster, pictured above, helped establish Mary Potter Hospice 40 years ago. She remains Read more
CathNews editor, Fr Denis O’Hagan SM, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination this last weekend. At a social occasion on Saturday night, Denis O’Hagan said he didn’t remember much of his ordination day. One thing he however remembered was his cousin, at one point an undertaker, saying, “Just let me know if you need Read more
On Wednesday evening David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill passed the second reading stage by 70 votes to 50; 9 votes more than the 61 votes required. It was a slimmer margin than the one achieved at first reading in December 2017. The vote then was 76 to 44. While the vote appears decisive with Read more
The Care Alliance, a charity which opposes physician-assisted euthanasia, has taken out a full-page advertisement in the New Zealand Herald. The letter has been signed by 1061 doctors, of the 17,000 registered doctors in New Zealand. Medical Association chair Dr Kate Baddock agreeds with the letter and the majority of their more than 5000 members oppose Read more
In South Auckland, the Salvation Army is running a mobile shop in a big purple van. The Good Shop is an attempt to disrupt the fleet of mobile shops that cruise low-income areas selling overpriced goods and offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. People with disabilities or a lack of transport are commonly targeted by Read more