Almost a quarter of a million more couples are projected to be living without children by 2038, Statistics New Zealand says. Couple-without-children families account for more than half the projected growth of all families, increasing from 513,000 in 2013 to 757,000 in 2038 (up 244,000). While this figure includes “empty nesters”, there is also an Read more
Golriz Ghahraman escaped Iran as a child in 1990 and resettled in New Zealand with her family. She is now a member of parliament. And she is asking New Zealanders what has happened to their conscience. The United Nations has warned that Tuesday’s closure of the detention centre on PNG’s Manus Island could cause a Read more
On Sunday, Bishop Mark Whitfield of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand and Cardinal John Dew for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. On this date in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses, concerning failings he saw in the Church, on the door of the All Saints’ Church Read more
They expected a couple of hundred people but 27,000 people from all Christian faiths turned up, writes Damian George. Organiser Gordon Copeland was hoping a few hundred people would turn out to “March for Jesus” on an October day in 1972. Continue reading
Silver splitters- people who divorce later in life – are on the increase in New Zealand, hundreds of family lawyers have said. A New Zealand Law Society and Grant Thornton survey of family law practitioners- the first of its kind in this country- reveal divorce trends and patterns, including the rise of the ‘silver splitter’, Read more
Abortion law reform advocates are keen on the new prime minister to act on her call to take abortion out of the Crimes Act as soon as possible. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern publicly stated that she didn’t believe abortion should be in the Crimes Act, as it is currently. But the issue doesn’t feature in Read more
This coming Sunday parishioners at Catholic churches in New Zealand will notice the Liturgy of the Word is a little different: the Gospel will be prayed using an ancient process called Lectio Divina (Holy Reading). “This Lectio Divina initiative is a way the Archdiocese is responding to the plea of Pope Francis to make the Read more
Former Massey University associate professor of religious studies Peter Donovan wants to change the way primary schools teach religion. He says the current Nelson System was established 140 years ago by the 1877 Education Act and is now outdated. The Nelson System made provision for secular New Zealand state primary schools to have “a Bible Read more
During their recent meeting in Wellington, the New Zealand Catholic bishops discussed Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio ‘Magnum Principium’ (the great principle) which lays out the procedure for preparing translations of liturgical texts from Latin into local languages. They say they will be working in collaboration with English speaking Bishops’ Conferences around the world as they Read more
UPDATE Narayan given reprieve by the new government as deportation halted. Read More Original Post A young Fijian man with serious intellectual disabilities is on the verge of being deported back to Fiji. New Zealand Immigration plans to deport Sagar Narayan even though Sagar’s family has advised the government department that he had no support Read more