Christchurch regeneration minister Megan Woods is seeking formal advice on whether she could intervene to prevent the demolition of Christchurch’s Catholic cathedral. A spokesman for Woods said last Wednesday that formal advice on whether she could intervene to prevent demolition under a section 38 notice could be with the minister in about two days. The Read more
A Hawkes Bay church wants to build a mega solar farm to help to reduce energy poverty in the region. To alleviate the energy situation for about 400 Flaxmere households, Reverend Jill McDonald and Chris Lambourne of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Hastings hope to construct a large solar farm to provide Flaxmere with cheap Read more
The National Centre for Religious Studies is providing guidance to Catholic schools throughout New Zealand on gender complexity. The guidance, endorsed by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, is for principals, boards of trustees, staff and whānau. It provides a point of reference in the support and accompaniment of children and young people who may Read more
Spiritual care must be integrated into health system care plans, policies and training in order to reflect national guidelines and strategies more effectively, according to University of Otago researchers. In interviews with 24 cancer survivors, their whanau and health workers, the researchers found participants felt as if documentation of their spiritual beliefs had the potential Read more
Peter Lineham, professor of history and religion at Massey University, says it is anecdotally evident that many people have “just had it” with religion. The respected academic joined RadioLIVE’s Mark Sainsbury to discuss how new age and traditional religions are evolving in the 21st century. Listen to the interview
Sister Beverley Rita Grounds was born in Christchurch in 1928, the only daughter of four children born to James and Mary Grounds. The family were well-known in Catholic circles, with brother William going on to become a priest in the diocese. Grounds read newspapers in Italian, translated religious scripture from French to English and keenly studied te Read more
This coming Saturday at our Christ the King church in Owairaka, Auckland representatives from eight of the world’s major faiths will come together for the annual interfaith meeting, hosted by Bishop Patrick Dunn, the Catholic bishop of Auckland. It was begun by a group of friends who are part of an India-New Zealand business association. Read more
For just the second time in its long history, the St Vincent de Paul Society in New Zealand has elected a woman to be its new national president. Marlena Hoeft-Marwick has been involved with the Society of St Vincent de Paul since she was in primary school and has come up through the ranks of Read more
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
Bishop Owen Dolan recently celebrated his 90th birthday at a gathering in Palmerston North with fellow Bishops, priests, diocesan staff, parishioners and friends. Bishop Peter Cullinane paid tribute to this ‘great and lovable man’. Continue reading