On the 12th of May, the month of Mary about 50 pilgrims joined the Family Pilgrimage with Mary to pray for the needs of families. Aside from the number of pilgrims that attended, the miracle was the beautiful cloudy day sandwiched in between two days of wet weather that saw the pilgrims journey from one Read more
New Zealand
Anglican Church apologises to Tauranga hapū for land sale to Crown
Monday, May 14th, 2018The Anglican Church of Aotearoa has apologised for its role which led to Tauranga Moana hapū losing 432ha of land in central Tauranga to the Crown after the Battle of Gate Pa The church has also agreed to stand alongside Ngāi Tamarāwaho and Ngāti Tapu hapū in support of their claim for redress before the Read more
Church member fined for illegally storing pork for fundraiser
Monday, May 14th, 2018Aso Lino Mika, 51, felt under pressure from her Samoan church in Christchurch to help store the pork at her Stanmore Rd dairy. Read more
Petrol tax to hit poor
Thursday, May 10th, 2018
The voices of a church, a charity and an economist are raised against the government’s petrol tax. They say that it is regressive and will hurt Auckland’s poor the most. Transport minister, Phil Twyford, says he wants a fuel excise duty increase of between nine and 12 cents a litre. Furthermore, Aucklanders would have to Read more
Pontifical commission – the good and bad
Thursday, May 10th, 2018
A member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors says his work was a mixture of achievement and frustration. This was Bill Kilgallon, a New Zealander who sat on the Commission’s first term. He says the achievements include the establishment of the body itself. It brought together people from different professional backgrounds from Read more
Tax Working Group’s concerns at inequality
Thursday, May 10th, 2018Newly-released documents prepared for the Tax Working Group have put concerns over inequality at the centre of the tax debate and suggested a broad-based capital gains tax could be a solution. One of the key questions facing the Tax Working Group was whether it should be aiming to reduce inequality, officials said. A broad-based capital Read more
Church abuse victims left out of inquiry
Thursday, May 10th, 2018Church abuse survivors have resigned themselves to being excluded from the upcoming Royal Commission of Inquiry. Inquiry chair, Sir Anand Satyanand has said that focusing on abuse which had a state link would give a ‘clarity of purpose’, and expanding the inquiry [into churches] would make it lengthier and much, much more costly. The Anglican Read more
Booze banned at school fundraisers
Thursday, May 10th, 2018Selling alcohol at some school fundraising events may violate the right of children in the eyes of the United Nations. That is the view of Hawke’s Bay District Health Board. It will now oppose applications for alcohol sales at school functions where children are present. The board is concerned at the presence and promotion of Read more
Rural churches struggle
Monday, May 7th, 2018
Rural churches internationally are struggling to find resources. Their ministers often must serve many congregations at once. An organisation called International Rural Churches Association (IRCA) recently held its 6th conference in Christchurch. The group’s chairman, Jerry Marshall, told delegates that rural churches are relevant and “a voice for voiceless.” “Often rural people get drowned out Read more
Catholic Māori boys’ school driver training
Monday, May 7th, 2018
A Catholic Māori boys’ secondary school near Feilding is pushing students to gain their restricted driver’s licence before they leave the school. Hato Pāora College principal, Sean Bristow, says most of his pupils are fulltime boarders. They miss out on driver training. “Ninety-seven per cent of our boys are boarders and, with that, comes challenges Read more