On Saturday 8 June, over 100 people joined with L’Arche (Kapiti), Mount Tabor (Auckland), Marralomeda (Christchurch) and Faith & Light communities to honour the memory of Jean Vanier who died in Paris on 7 May. Participants in the service included people from all Christian faiths with and without intellectual disability. A joyous atmosphere prevailed as Read more
Pika Purotu and her priest, the Reverend Fakaofo Kaio of the Onehunga Cooperating Parish, are campaigning for children to spend less time attending funerals and more time attending school. They say children should spend a maximum of three days at a funeral – and only if the deceased is a member of their immediate family. Read more
Bishop Paul Martin, the Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, is proposing to create five new parishes in Christchurch by merging 12 existing parishes. The proposed changes were announced at Sunday masses throughout the Diocese via a video message on Pentecost Sunday. Parishioners have been asked to provide feedback by August 30. The five new parishes would Read more
Cardinal John Dew’s call to drop the “Father” title has received mixed results. As reported by CathNews, Dew first raised the issue of honorifics in an internal church newsletter. Describing the “Don’t call me Father” call as ‘simple’, Dew however hopes that not using the clerical title might go some way to changing the clerical Read more
Christian groups have reacted in vastly different ways in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attack – some reaching out with offers of support while others continue to see Islam as a threat. Former Methodist leader Keith Rowe says church groups haven’t gone far enough in accepting Islam. Overall, Rowe says, the Christian response was Read more
Kīngi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII met with Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. At the meeting, the Kīngi formally invited the Pope to New Zealand to visit him at Turangawaewae Marae. It was Kīngi Tuheitia’s first visit to Rome and his first such Papal engagement, usually reserved for heads of state. They Read more
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recently toured the South Pacific to discuss climate change. In Fiji last week, he told a crowd about “a kind of coffin” built by the US in the Marshall Islands to house the deadly radioactive debris from the 1980s. The “coffin” is the product of a belated American response to Read more
A survey commissioned by Euthanasia-Free NZ and conducted by Curia Market Research (CMR), indicates the gap in public opinion between those who support and oppose the End of Life Choice Bill was narrowing. The survey results are based on 1048 responses. When questioned about specific aspects of euthanasia the poll found: 73 per cent were opposed Read more
The president of the NZ Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Patrick Dunn, has told the New Zealand Herald that the Motu Proprio on the reporting of sexual abuse cases will be studied to make sure that the recommendations it contains are fully implemented. On 9 May Pope Francis issued the Motu Proprio making it mandatory for priests and Read more
The marriage rate for New Zealand residents fell last year to its lowest since the peak in 1971. While the number of marriages and civil unions among residents has been steady at around 21,000 per annum for the last 20 years, a rising population means that the number per capita has been on a steady Read more