The Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust has bought the former Marian College campus in Richmond and will centralise its South Island services in a new facility there. New facilities for people with brain and spinal injuries will be built on a Christchurch school site cleared after the earthquakes. The Laura Fergusson charity runs a residential Read more
New Zealand
Laura Fergusson trust buys old Marian College site for new Christchurch centre
Monday, May 24th, 2021Otago Uni appoints first chaplaincy lecturer
Thursday, May 20th, 2021
Otago university’s appointment of its first chaplaincy lecturer will help with the nationwide shortages of chaplains, says Monsignor John Harrison. Harrison, who is the Dunedin police chaplain, says there are many shortages across the diverse field of chaplaincy, including among Catholic chaplains. Chaplains play a crucial role, including being part of the overall response to Read more
NZ Catholic bishops set date to discuss new lay Catechist ministry
Thursday, May 20th, 2021
The Catholic bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand will discuss the new lay Catechist ministry at their meeting in October. Pope Francis announced the new ministry this month. NZ Catholic Bishops Conference secretary, Bishop Stephen Lowe, says the bishops have received many questions since the pope’s announcement. Many of these have been about the formation of Read more
Māori participation in Manawatū District Council ‘shunned’, say church leaders
Thursday, May 20th, 2021Church leaders are calling on Manawatū District councillors to reconsider their “divisive” stance on Māori wards. Leaders from several of Feilding’s churches have signed an open letter that was sent to all councillors on May 17. It called on them to vote in favour of Māori wards at a meeting on Thursday, introducing a Māori Read more
Caritas NZs parent body is launching Gaza appeal
Thursday, May 20th, 2021The parent body of Caritas NZ, Caritas Internationalis, is launching a special appeal to bring medical care to the population affected by the ongoing shelling in Gaza. Caritas Jerusalem is preparing to respond to the urgent needs of the thousands injured and the thousands of people forced to leave their homes either because they were Read more
110-year old Wellington church to close
Monday, May 17th, 2021
Unaffordable maintenance costs and an old and shrinking congregation have spelt the demise of a 110-year old Wellington church. St Bernard’s parish church in Brookyn held its last mass on 10 April. It will close altogether in the coming months. St Bernard’s parish priest Fr Doug Shepherd says earthquake strengthening work was needed on the Read more
Bishops postpone national hikoi until further notice
Monday, May 17th, 2021
New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference has deferred the national hikoi prior to this August’s renewal of Aotearoa New Zealand’s dedication to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven. The bishops have decided to postpone the hikoi in which a specially-commissioned artwork will be displayed. Bishop Stephen Lowe, (pictured) Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, says the bishops revised Read more
Children miss out on ‘kindness’
Monday, May 17th, 2021
A Government report from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) says New Zealand’s poorest children are continuing to miss out. The new Child Poverty Related Indicators Report, released Thursday, found there has been no measurable improvement in housing conditions, preventable hospitalisations or food security. “The report shows our children are suffering unnecessarily. “Polling Read more
Our Lady of Kapiti church wins at architecture awards
Monday, May 17th, 2021Honoured at the Te Kāhui Whaihanga Architecture Awards at the Embassy Theatre earlier this month, our Lady of Kāpiti Parish Church by DLA Architects was one of the winners in the Public Architecture category. The building collects and connects two Kāpiti parishes and three former churches under one roof with the design showing the parishes’ Read more
‘N’ word and alcohol spark rugby brawl
Thursday, May 13th, 2021
The ‘N’ word, repeated vile racist slurs and brawl, were the sad culmination of a club rugby match between Marist St Pats (MSP), and Old Boys’ University (OBU) at Wellington College last weekend. MSP is Wellington’s Catholic rugby club. Speaking with RNZ’s Lisa Owen, MSP Chairman Rob Evans reluctantly confirmed the ‘n…..’ word had been Read more