Hato Petera College has begun the school year with fewer than 30 students ranging from year 9 to year 13. That is about half the number of students on its roll compared to last year. Rudy Taylor, the chairman of the Hato Petera Whanau Trust, said, while that number is low, he thinks it can be built up. Read more
The New Zealand bishops have appointed Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard to a new role with Secretariat for Te Huinga o ngā Pīhopa Katorika o Aotearoa / The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) He will be supporting the secretariat and the bishops in their commitment to Katorika Māori. The role will be a part time one. Read more
There are reports that Pope Francis has set up a commission to review of Liturgiam Authenticam. This decree provided the principles that guided the recent translations of liturgical texts. The report in America Magazine states the commission will also examine what level of decentralisation is desirable in the church on matters such as this. But Read more
A Muslim imam and missionary Mustenser Qamar has extended an invitation to his Lower Hutt community: come over for a cuppa and a chat. The idea behind it is for people to get to know a Muslim. “I was encouraged to do it by what is going on in the world – the proposed Muslim ban [in Read more
There’s still no fixed date for the demolition of Hamilton’s Euphrasie House, and politicians are taking other options to the church. The Catholic Diocese got the green light to bowl the 1939 convent and hostel in a 2014 Environment Court decision, and a passionate group of locals has been trying to save it since then. Read more
On 26 January, a meeting took place in the archbishop’s residence in Lyons to formally open the beatification process of Fr Jean-Claude Colin, Founder of the Society of Mary. The meeting was presided over by the Vicar General of the archdiocese. Others in attendance were the Promoter of Justice, the Notary of the Cause, and Read more
Four days out from the biggest fight in his career Joseph Parker took time out to give back to his old school. Speaking at Marcellin College was all the initiative of the former troublesome teenager, now WBO heavyweight champion. “He asked us if he can come to school to help us out in any way,” Read more
A Catholic student meeting all the special character requirements is on the wait list for John Paul College, Rotorua. Maringi James, 13 is due to start her secondary education in 2017 but the school roll is at capacity. Maringi’s mother, Lauren James is calling on the Ministry of Education to exercise some discretion about the Read more
Porirua’s Holy Family school deputy principal Gina Lefaoseu recently won a SunPix award for leadership in education. The awards are growing in popularity as a leading forum to acknowledge Pasifika successes nationwide and Lefaoseu is determined her school will keep succeeding. Lefaoseu says Holy Family school is very diverse; it has 180 students, 85 per cent Read more
A proposed bylaw allowing stores in Marlborough to open on Easter Sunday has an unlikely advocate – a pastor. The Marlborough District Council called for public submissions on the issue after Parliament passed a bill to give local councils the power to create their own bylaws on Easter Sunday trading in August. Many church leaders in Marlborough opposed the Read more