On Monday a report about same gender marriage was presented to the General Synod of the Anglican Church. The report upheld the “traditional doctrine of marriage”, which defined marriage as being “between a man and a woman … life-long and monogamous”. However it proposed a compromise solution which would allow the blessing of same gender couples Read more
A recent study shows New Zealanders rank Pope Francis fifth, equal alongside the Dalai Lama among the world’s most admired men. The study, performed by Internet-based market research firm YouGov from the United Kingdom, ranked the world’s 20 “most admired” men and women separately. The most admired man for New Zealand respondents was David Attenborough, Read more
A donation made by the Diocese of Palmerston North Catholic Charities Allocations Group has provided an opportunity the Flaxmere Jarmy Army to buy warm clothes for families. “We negotiate with The Warehouse”, says Ana Apatu. “For every purchase of pyjamas, The Warehouse will donate a set of thermals. My friend Bev Te Huia emails me, Read more
The governor general has visited the Little Sisters of the Poor Sacred Heart Home in Dunedin to say happy birthday to Sister Marie, a nun born Annie Fitzpatrick. He sent the 102 year old Sr Marie a birthday card on April 2, her birthday, and since he was in the city, took the opportunity to Read more
Last Saturday, forty staff, volunteers, friends and supporters of the Logos Project in Auckland attended a Mass at which Jennifer Martinez was commission as the leader of the Logos Project. Martinez has worked at The Logos project for more than ten years. “The experiences and opportunities I received in my younger years have had a Read more
The Death Café movement continues to grow and recently established in two locations in the Nelson region. Takaka Death Cafe facilitator Aralyn Doiron said Death Cafe was about demystifying death and dying. She that doing this helps to make our lives richer in many ways. Death Cafes are an increasingly popular phenomenon worldwide, bringing strangers together to discuss death Read more
Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, celebrated Mass on Tuesday May 10 to launch a Wellington Archdiocese initiative, Benefit Impact. Benefit Impact assists and advocates for those in the Wellington region on a benefit. St Joseph’s Parish in Upper Hutt will welcoming beneficiaries to the event being hosted by the parish from 10-13 May. Benefit Impact Read more
The fate of a historic Auckland building earmarked for restoration is up in the air. The Whare on the former Monte Cecilia Catholic School site in Hillsborough was spared from demolition under the presumption it could be utilised by the Puketapapa Local Board as a community facility. However, Auckland Council staff are now advising against its Read more
New Zealand has the worst rate of family and intimate-partner violence in the world. In 2015, police around New Zealand attended about 105,000 family violence callouts. If each of those incidents was represented by a person, that’s getting close to the population of Tauranga. It is estimated that 80 per cent of incidents go unreported Read more
Two Auckland men have now pleaded guilty to what is believed to be the country’s first charges for watching radical Islam videos of beheading and violence. Niroshan Nawarajan, 27, and Imran Patel, 26, have been in custody since being arrested – Patel in November last year and Nawarajan in January. Nawarajan pleaded guilty in the Read more