Bill Kilgallon, director of the National Office for Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, has been attending a meeting in Rome of The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The Plenary Assembly began with Mass with Pope Francis, in Santa Marta. Members then focused their sessions on listening to and discussing Read more
Any New Zealand Catholic can have a prayer offered for them in Rome next month without leaving the country! Cardinal John Dew, who is the President of Bible Society New Zealand (BSNZ), will offer prayers for those who have participated in the Poverty and Justice Bible Campaign at his church at the end of November. Read more
Pope Francis has called for a Church that listens and learns at every level, but he said this requires the correct view of Church structure. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, Francis outlined his vision for a Church that is “synodal” at every level. “A synodal church is a listening church, aware that listening is Read more
The Presbyterian Church’s Māori division has rounded on its General Assembly, accusing it of walking away from its partnership to fund and support Turakina Māori Girls’ College. The chair of Te Aka Puaho – the Maori Synod, Reverend Wayne Te Kaawa, said the General Assembly and Central Presbytery has left the Synod struggling alone to Read more
An Auckland Maori school, Hato Petera, has made the “painful” decision to close its junior boarding facility, saying it can no longer provide a supportive environment. The Catholic school, in Northcote, says it hopes at least some of its Year 9 and 10 students will be able to attend as day pupils until the end Read more
Minister of Education Hekia Parata has made an interim decision to close Turakina Māori Girls College, which is one of only six remaining Maori boarding schools. That prompted Minister of Maori Development Te Ururoa Flavell to criticise the churches for not fulfilling their obligations by upgrading Maori schools and making a bigger financial contribution. But Read more
In his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome, Cardinal John Dew reinforced the message that when families are struggling, they need friends. In an interview with the Catholic News Service, Cardinal Dew said that during his intervention he quoted from a letter issued by the Oceania bishops in 1994. Cardinal Dew said Read more
The Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has accused the churches of not fulfilling their obligations to Māori schools. There are six remaining Māori boarding schools, including three owned by the Catholic Church: Hato Paora in Feilding, Hato Petera in Auckland and St Joseph’s in Napier. “If they really want those schools to flourish they’ve got Read more
Bishop Charles Drennan has called for theologians to engage with the science that says sexual orientation is neither a matter of choice nor of conditioning. In his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome last week, Bishop Drennan appealed for mercy for a particular category of people who feel rejection – persons with Read more
After more than six years, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary ( SMSM ) has stopped using four adjacent homes in Gloucester Rd in Manurewa, as its training centre. The religious order has run training programmes in New Zealand for 80 years and in Auckland since 1995. The society’s Auckland administrator Sister Patricia Leamy Read more