The Catholic bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, says the diocese is in talks over the purchase of a city centre site near Cathedral Square, which he declined to name. Martin said the land purchase talks were part of an assessment of three options for the 113-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament which was severely damaged in Read more
A contingent of 21 New Zealanders will attend the international celebration for 2019 World Youth Day (WYD2019) in Panama. The event in January next year will be attended by thousands from around the world. Bishop of Palmerston North, Charles Drennan, who will be accompanying the New Zealand pilgrimage to Panama, commented “it’s my first World Read more
A lack of clarity surrounding key terms of the Historical Abuse in State Care Royal Commission is raising serous concerns around the Commission’s scope. The terms causing concern are “faith-based institutions” and “in care”. The confusion emerged after the Government announced the Royal Commission will look into both state and faith-based institutions. On Tuesday commission Read more
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and Catholic religious orders have welcomed the inclusion of faith-based institutions in the New Zealand Government’s expanded inquiry into the historical abuse of children. On Monday the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced the scope of the inquiry will include faith-based institutions. It will be called the Royal Commission into Historical Read more
Recently Te Wānanga o Raukawa opened a building called Te Ara a Tāwhaki. In this building is a central Lecture Theatre called ‘Te Kete Uruuru Rangi.’ It is surrounded by carvings. As part of those carvings, there are sets of ‘pou’ (carved wall features or poles) which express the ancestral links each hapū has. One Read more
Catherine Fyfe will chair a group of people who will ensure that the Catholic Church provides a co-ordinated and co-operative response to the Historical Abuse in State Care Royal Commission. Fyfe is a layperson with extensive experience in human resource management and organisational development. The New Zealand Catholic bishops and the heads of all religious Read more
Would Jesus be protesting about his name being taken out of the parliamentary prayer? asks Aaron Hendry, writing in Spinoff. He says Jesus would have better things to do. “With everything that is going on in this nation, with the gap between rich and poor widening, with our housing crisis forcing more of our whanau Read more
On Friday the Law Commission’s ministerial briefing paper providing advice to the Minister of Justice on proposed changes to the abortion law in New Zealand was released. Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, noted “the paper is substantial and so we need time to read it and give it careful Read more
A decision on the future of the earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch, New Zealand, has been delayed to March or April, rather finalised at the end of this year as originally planned. The Bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, said he is still considering whether to restore the cathedral, knock it down and build Read more
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops are seeking to set the record straight in response to recent reporting that the Church is backing away from actively seeking inclusion in the Government’s Inquiry. The Bishops and representation from Catholic Religious orders wrote to Prime Minister Ardern, Minister Martin and Sir Anand Satyanand in March this year. That Read more