The 10-year-old boy from Sacred Heart School in Invercargill is still in critical condition in Dunedin Hospital and was recovering slowly, but well, his grandfather said. Read more “The boy was seriously injured by an electric fence stake while playing with a friend. Read more Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Stu Harvey said the family of the boy that Read more
New Zealand
Poverty and Justice Bible launch – a call to action
Friday, September 18th, 2015
Cardinal John Dew challenged the 400 strong congregation attending the launch of the new Poverty and Justice Bible to take up the cross of others who are struggling and to act on God’s Word. Even before the launch Bible Society had sold 220 Bibles which funds the 220 copies that will be given to people Read more
Proposal for State to sell off 10,000 needy New Zealanders
Friday, September 18th, 2015
A newly released report proposes handing control of services for the 10,000 “highest-cost clients of the social services system” a new national “Better Lives” agency or to expanded “district health and social boards” (DHSBs), which would buy services from mostly non-government “navigators” to coordinate help for needy clients in their regions. The report says each Read more
New Zealand and Pacific well represented at Synod
Friday, September 18th, 2015
Four New Zealanders will be attending the Synod on Marriage and the Family. NewstalkZB reports that the church describes the selection of 4 New Zealanders as a significant number for a small country, especially one with a small Catholic population. The Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, and Palmerston North’s Bishop Charles Drennan will be Read more
Kiwi playmate tells Family First to ‘chill out’ over Zoo Weekly
Friday, September 18th, 2015Playboy’s first Kiwi playmate has told conservative Christian group Family First to “chill out”. Gemma Lee Farrell is men’s magazine Zoo Weekly’s current covergirl. Zoo Weekly is a lad’s mag known for its racy content and titillating images of women. Farrell hails from Pirongia, a town of less than 1500 people just west of Te Read more
Couple give away $20 million from property sale
Friday, September 18th, 2015A Christchurch couple who own a $20 million-plus property will sell it and give away all the proceeds. Marilyn and Grant Nelson are selling their commercial site on the corner of Blenheim and Curletts roads, which they own through their charitable trust the Gama Foundation. The self-made and publicity-shy couple have already given millions of Read more
New Plymouth’s three parishes amalgamate
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
The parishes of St Joseph’s, St Philomena’s and Our Lady Help of Christians have amalgamated into one, known as the Catholic Parish of New Plymouth. The reunification Mass at Sacred Heart Girls’ College on 6 September was led by Bishop Charles Drennan, who told the parishioners that Taranaki had always been and would continue to be Read more
Family poverty – 26,000 kiwi kids in poverty
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
This week is Social Justice week. The focus this year is family poverty. Almost a quarter of all New Zealand families with children experience income poverty. 2014 Child Poverty Monitor That means that these families live on less than 60% of New Zealand’s mean income. Only 37% of the adults in these families are in paid Read more
NZ Bishop advised teaching on Marriage cannot be changed
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
Bishop Charles Drennan, the New Zealand delegate at the Synod on Families, has been sent a letter from an expert on the Council of Trent expressing the view that the church cannot change its teaching on the dissolubility of marriage. The moral theologian is responding to an argument put forward by Cardinal Walter Kaspar proposing that it is Read more