About 30 priests from across the Dunedin Diocese gathered in Dunedin on Wednesday as part of a push to upskill clergy in response to the sexual abuse crisis engulfing the Church. Speakers included Virginia Noonan, director of the Catholic Church in New Zealand’s National Office of Professional Standards which handles sexual abuse complaints involving clergy. Read more
Students, staff and local kaumatua gathered at Cullinane College in Whanganui last Friday for the opening ceremony of their new teaching and health services block. The buildings were officially opened by Gerrard Albert and John Maihi with a dawn service at 5am, followed by Bishop Charles Drennan’s blessing at 9.30am. The new block contains a Read more
Would Jesus be protesting about his name being taken out of the parliamentary prayer? asks Aaron Hendry, writing in Spinoff. He says Jesus would have better things to do. “With everything that is going on in this nation, with the gap between rich and poor widening, with our housing crisis forcing more of our whanau Read more
In a semi-rural Marlborough town, St Luke’s Church is welcoming its loyal parishioners; as it has done since Queen Victoria was head of state. While the number of regular attendees for Sunday morning service fluctuate from 25 to 30, St Luke’s is a vital part of the community Continue reading
More than 800,000 people have been stripped of insurance funds set aside to cover their funeral costs when they die after Southern Cross pulled the pin on the benefit. Continue reading
St Patrick’s Presbytery on the corner of Hobson St and Wyndham St, alongside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland, is to be restored and upgraded. The 130-year-old brick building has a Category A heritage rating, the highest possible. It is said by heritage architects to be Auckland inner-city’s oldest continually-occupied residence. An Auckland diocese spokeswoman told Read more
Proprietors and principals of state integrated schools met with the Minister of Education Hon Chris Hipkins and Associate Minister Hon Jenny Salesa last Thursday. Salesa started the morning’s discussion by expressing the government’s commitment to working collaboratively with state integrated schools. Hipkins then talked about the significant funding challenges faced by the education sector. He Read more
On Friday the Law Commission’s ministerial briefing paper providing advice to the Minister of Justice on proposed changes to the abortion law in New Zealand was released. Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, noted “the paper is substantial and so we need time to read it and give it careful Read more
One person was seriously injured and seven others received minor injuries after a butane canister exploded during a barbecue at a De La Salle College in Māngere last Friday Principal Myles Hogarty said the explosion took place at morning interval and “involved a portable gas cooker exploding while boys were running a sausage sizzle as Read more
A senior Vatican cardinal believes Catholics face two choices as the Church experiences a “perfect demonic storm” due to sexual abuse. “We are at a moment of serious crisis, probably the greatest crisis our Church has faced in many centuries,” said Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, who visited New Zealand from September 13 to 16. Continue reading Read more