Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, has announced that as from 1 February 2016, the Archdiocese will take responsibility for the pastoral care of the parish of Saints Mary and Joseph in Otaki and Levin. Dew has thanked the priests and brothers of the Society of Mary for their pastoral care and leadership in Read more
Leaders of New Zealand’s Catholic and Anglican churches say their people can look after 1200 refugees on top of the 750 Syrian refugees the Government confirmed it will take over the next two and a half years. On Monday the Minister of Immigration, Michael Woodhouse announced that New Zealand will take 750 Syrian refugees over Read more
Demand for Catholic education across Auckland has sparked multi-million-dollar plans for four new schools, one earmarked to take up to 1000 pupils. Kerry Coleman, Auckland Catholic Diocese general manager, said the new schools at Hillsborough, Drury, Takanini and Riverhead would each cost more than $5 million to build. Mr Coleman said the first of the Read more
If John Key wanted an example of how difficult it is to get Kiwis enthusiastic about the flag debate, he could have a chat with the boys at St Bernard’s College. The Lower Hutt school provided five intelligent and articulate senior boys aware of the push for a new flag. It is a topic they Read more
The NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations have invited Rabbi Fred Morgan to visit New Zealand this month. The invitation is to mark the 50th Anniversary of the historical document Nostra Aetate – the Declaration on the Relation of the Catholic Church to Non-Christian Religions published in 1965. He will speak first on 9 Read more
CERA has given its approval under Section 38 to take down parts of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch New Zealand. The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch has capped the cost for this first stage of the restoration at $45 million. It is seeking to fundraise raise $15 million of that total. The proposed Read more
A man Philanthropist Gareth Morgan calls New Zealand’s own Mother Teresa has died in Bangladesh. Edric Baker was an inspirational New Zealand medical doctor who worked in an isolated rural area in northern Bangladesh for 35 years. His vision of ‘health care for the poor by the poor’ led him to set up of the Kailakuri Health Read more
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has suspended the funding New Zealand provides to Nauru each year for its justice system because of ongoing concerns about civil rights abuses. New Zealand had been giving Nauru $1.2 million a year, paid out quarterly. Mr McCully said several incidents had caused him concern, including the removal of senior members Read more
An independent Government-appointed consultant will be brought in to negotiate plans for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral after four years of deadlock. Plans for the future of Christchurch’s iconic cathedral stalled in 2011 after Anglican leaders came out in support of plans to partially demolish the building. They had faced ongoing opposition from heritage campaigners, particularly Read more
Works by a former Catholic nun Sr Corita Kent, IHM, will be the subject of a major exhibition at New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery later this year. Sr Corita, who developed her art as an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister, made political pop art in the United States in the 1950s to the 1970s. Her Read more