Dame Tariana Turia says life and death are not individual events. She says there are very few people who are on the Earth by themselves. We exist as part of our families, our whānau and our communities. For many Māori, death is a process the whole whānau goes through together because the whānau is farewelling Read more
New Zealand
Death metal drummer charged with setting two LDS churches ablaze
Thursday, April 4th, 2019A death metal drummer has been charged with setting two Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints churches ablaze. Jacob Lowenstein, 28, who plays for metal band Igni, appeared from custody via an audio-visual link at Christchurch District Court today on two charges of arson – and one of unlawfully taking a vehicle. Read more
Muslim prayer at Anzac Day service upsets RSA veterans
Thursday, April 4th, 2019A decision to invite a Muslim cleric to say a prayer at an Anzac Day service has sparked an anguished backlash from veterans. The Returned and Services Association (RSA) branch at Titahi Bay near Wellington has moved the Muslim prayer from its 6 am dawn service to its 10 am civic ceremony after some veterans Read more
Archdiocese grapples with reducing number of churches
Monday, April 1st, 2019
RNZ has reported that some Catholics in Wellington are unhappy with cardinal John Dew’s letter to all parishes in the archdiocese asking them to review the number of churches in their parish. The RNZ report says they accuse him of being high-handed and autocratic. But Dew denies this. He says he has simply asked congregations Read more
Ninety per cent of submissions oppose assisted dying bill
Monday, April 1st, 2019
More than 90 per cent of New Zealanders who made submissions oppose the End of Life Choice Bill. The Care Alliance analysed virtually all of the more than 38,000 submissions made to Parliament’s justice select committee on Act leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill. It found that 90.2 per cent opposed the bill, Read more
New apostolic nuncio appointed to New Zealand and the Pacific
Monday, April 1st, 2019
Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa as Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand and Apostolic Delegate to the countries of the Pacific. Archbishop Rugambwa was born in Bukoba, Tanzania in 1957, ordained a priest in 1986 and Archbishop in 2010. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1991 and has served in Read more
Hate crime law review fast-tracked
Monday, April 1st, 2019Justice Minister Andrew Little is considering making hate crime an offence in the wake of the March 15 Christchurch terror attack. Currently, hate-motivated hostility can be considered an “aggravating factor” in sentencing, and staff can note when a crime was motivated by a “common characteristic” such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion. Read Read more
Marian College to move to new site in Papanui, Christchurch
Monday, April 1st, 2019A Catholic high school will get a new permanent home 12 years after its original site was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes. A new Marian College will be built on a 3-hectare site bordered by Vagues, Main North and Northcote roads in the Christchurch suburb of Papanui. Continue reading
Muslim chaplaincy service for the University of Otago
Monday, April 1st, 2019A long-planned Muslim chaplaincy service for the University of Otago will be officially launched today. Two chaplains are taking up part-time, voluntary roles providing pastoral care and spiritual support to Muslim students – retired political lecturer Dr Najib Lafraie, a former Afghanistan foreign minister who fled the Taliban, and Salmah Kassim, a former diplomatic officer Read more
Concern about curtailment of civil liberties after mosque shooting
Thursday, March 28th, 2019
New Zealand’s Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has not question the banning of the graphic video of the shooting at two mosques in Christchurch but they believe other moves go too far. In their recent newsletters and press releases, they say that the wake of terror attacks, governments often consider curtailing a number of civil liberties. “With that Read more