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
One of two Islamic primary schools in the country says there is a desperate need for more schools for Muslims. Iqra Elementary School in West Auckland officially opened its new building in New Lynn last Wednesday. It has come a long way since it first started in 2016 when it had only 15 students, crammed Read more
New Zealand authorities are investigating a prominent Samoan church with links to a cryptocurrency labelled as a fraudulent pyramid scheme. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) probe into the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (SISDAC) – which has branches in New Zealand, Australia and Samoa – comes amid a seperate investigation by Samoa’s Central Read more
Jacob Lowenstein’s arsons of two churches was “a determined attempt to make a statement against religion”, said the judge who jailed the 28-year-old for six years nine months. Judge Saunders said Lowenstein saw his actions as a way of getting back at his father for his strict religious upbringing. He had tried to reach out Read more
Next week, two New Zealanders will join hundreds of other young people in Rome as part of an international Youth Forum. The Youth Office of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is holding the International Youth Forum in Rome to carry forward the work of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Read more
A series of regional seminars is being run throughout New Zealand focusing on spiritual renewal and the recruitment of new members to join the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The seminars, run by the Society’s National Spiritual Adviser Fr Jeff Drane, are being held in the coming months in response to requests from Vincentians 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
Human rights lawyer Sonja Cooper told Morning Report some survivors were unclear on whether their interviews with the Royal Commission had been part of the official hearings. The Royal Commission into the abuse of children in state care denies any “mock” or “pilot” sessions are taking place during the inquiry. Read more
Land and buildings used by the Christchurch parishes of St Francis of Assisi parish in Mairehau, Christ the King in Burnside, St James in Aranui, the Sacred Heart in Addington, St Peter’s in Beckenham, Saint Peter and Paul’s in Halswell and the Holy Trinity in Bryndwyr may no longer be needed when the parishes are Read more
At the centre of My Father’s Kingdom, it is Vea Mafile’o’s father, Saia Mafile’o, a South Auckland pensioner with a charismatic personality and deep ties to the church. Vea turns the camera on her family, and around on herself, to focus on struggling relationships, burning resentments, generational divides and cultural clashes that stretch back decades. Read more