Auckland’s St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral was unaware that its former choir director’s abusive past had led him to resign from two previous jobs. James Tibbles, a well-known early music specialist, was the choir director and organist at St Patrick’s from 2014 until last December. At that time the church said he had resigned “to pursue Read more
Reports of people who have requested euthanasia experiencing prolonged, traumatic end of life experiences say euthanasia medication may be to blame. This information is included in Radio New Zealand’s (RNZ) research into how prepared New Zealand is to introduce assisted dying. In some cases concoctions of unregulated and “off label” medicines are being given to Read more
Same-sex adoption, religious freedoms and child-abuse petitions are before Parliament at the moment. Reforming law in relation to hate speech offences is also on the agenda. If the hate speech law passes, offenders will face a larger maximum sentence than if they were found guilty of rioting, assaulting a child or providing explosives to commit Read more
The Cathedral of St Mary café is a popular spot for locals in New Plymouth and although hospitality has taken a hit over the past year, this servery is doing a roaring trade. For a once-a-week offering, the customers are many. “We get huge numbers through – 100-200 a day, sometimes more,” says head chef Read more
Timaru’s Sacred Heart Basilica has been named as a finalist in the biennial Canterbury Heritage Awards. The basilica is one of six finalists in the seismic category which also includes the Christchurch Town Hall, Muse Art hotel and the Rakaia Gorge No 1 Bridge. The church reopened in November 2020, following almost two years after Read more
Welfare agencies are concerned about the worsening housing crisis, soaring homelessness and inequality. New Zealand’s pandemic-inspired policies have translated into cheaper mortgages, allowing affluent “kiwis” to upsize their homes and build up portfolios of rental investment properties, fuelling a further surge in house prices. “Inequality was always growing, but COVID-19 is the proverbial straw that Read more
Ancient holy relics and bones have been unearthed by demolition workers at Christchurch’s Catholic cathedral. The treasures had been stored in two Greggs coffee jars that have remained undisturbed beneath the building for more than 40 years. The relics and bones are purportedly from saints and apostles of Jesus. They were put in the coffee Read more
Not all rainbow youth are coping well, a new study has found. The Youth19 survey of close to 8000 secondary school students found that while some progress is being made, and about half of the rainbow students in the study are coping well, some – especially transgender and gender diverse young people – are struggling. Read more
Of 75 buildings in the Wairarapa tagged as ‘high seismic risk’, civic officials have listed St Patrick’s Church in Masterton as one of six deserving priority attention. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE) rates St Patrick’s as only 26% NBS compliant (New Building Standard). Church engineers originally rated the building at a much Read more