Louisa Wall, the Labour member of parliament for Manurewa in New Zealand, says the Catholic Church should stay out of the current Australian discussion about same-gender marriage because it lacks moral authority. She told the BuzzFeed political podcast Is It On? she is perplexed by the prominent role of the Catholic Church and its leaders in Read more
The Sista’s Conference for Christian women took place at the beginning of September at the Trusts Arena in Auckland. Hosted by Life NZ, about 3,800 were expected to attend the opening night. The Saturday night crowd exceeded 6,000. Organisers estimate 50 percent of Sista attendees were from out of Auckland and participants were likely to Read more
Peter Godfrey passed away last night at the age of 95. Peter was born in England but travelled to New Zealand in 1958 to take up the position of Lecturer in Music at Auckland University, which he held from 1958-1973. Later he became Professor of Music until 1982 (1974-1982). During this time he directed Auckland’s Read more
Before he let God into his soul, Father Eric Urlich had ink running thick through his veins. The Catholic priest spent the first part of his life indulging his inquiring mind as a journalist before committing to the church at the age of 50. Continue reading
Family First is appealing against being stripped of its charitable status by the Charities Registration Board. The Board’s decision was made public in August. It was the second time it has tried to deregister the group. Board chairman Roger Holmes Miller said the Board considered that Family First has a purpose to promote its own particular views about marriage Read more
This coming Sunday will be Venerable Suzanne Aubert Celebration Day in all Catholic churches throughout New Zealand. The Sisters of Compassion, founded by Suzanne Aubert, and the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference agreed that the first Sunday of October will be marked as a day of celebration. All parishes have been asked to include a Read more
The Churches Education Commission (CEC) is outraged by claims made by secular education campaigners who want to stop religion being taught in state primary and intermediate schools. Tanya Jacob, the South Island representative of the of the Secular Education Network (SEN), said there are “really quite serious concerns, even concerns about potential for grooming, keeping secrets Read more
The experiences of migrants and refugees are addressed in an annual summit hosted by AUT’s Immigration and Inclusion Research Group. This year a range of speakers will be tackling the workplace. AUT’s University Director of Diversity, Edwina Pio is bringing together AUT stakeholders for her third diversity summit, this year exploring ‘Ethnicity in the workspace’. Read more
I was surprised that you printed the column written by Martin Hanson in Saturday’s paper under the heading of “Assisted Dying: the right to choose”. The article could more correctly have been headed “Why Catholics have no right to speak up on ethical matters” because that is what Mr Hanson was writing about. Read Msgr Frank Read more
People as far as the United States, New Zealand and Ireland were among the 1400 registered participants for the September 21-24 event, which had the theme of “Come” Laura Otto, from Rockhampton, gave the opening-night keynote address, affirming a welcome to all and assuring young people they were “totally worth it”. Continue reading