A Catholic education leader is sounding a note of warning after an experiment in giving condoms to teens in a college was hailed as a success. The chief executive of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office, Br Sir Patrick Lynch, spoke about an experiment at James Cook High School in south Auckland. Condoms were given Read more
Catholic Workers groups in the Hokianga and Otaki are organising peace vigils to oppose military deployment to Iraq. The vigils are among those to be held around New Zealand at 5pm on March 5 under the auspices of Peace Movement Aotearoa. They will call for increased humanitarian assistance and diplomatic support for Middle East peace Read more
A keynote speaker at June’s New Zealand Catholic Education Convention has slammed Britain’s shadow education secretary for a jibe about nuns as teachers. Sr Gemma Simmonds, CJ, told the Tablet that Labour’s Tristam Hunt had shown “breathtaking ignorance and bigotry”. His jibe came on the BBC’s Question Time programme last month, when the topic under Read more
Catholic justice peace and development agency Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has been the beneficiary of proceeds from a documentary about Mormons. Movie-goers who saw “Meet the Mormons” were invited to make a gold coin donation for Caritas. Proceeds were handed over to Catholic Church representatives at a Latter Day Saints facility in Manukau on February Read more
Three directors of religious studies from New Zealand Catholic schools took an opportunity in January to study the Jewish Holocaust. The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand awarded scholarships to Adele Churchman of Roncalli College in Timaru, Colin Macleod of Kavanagh College in Dunedin and Dan Stollenwerk from St Peter’s College in Auckland. The three visited Read more
Auckland Catholic diocese is raising funds for food banks by means of a sponsored walk. The 5km loop walk on Saturday, March 21 will raise funds for the Society of St Vincent de Paul, to be distributed to Auckland food banks. The 1-1.5 hour walk starts at the Pompallier Diocesan Centre in Ponsonby and returns Read more
An outdoor passion play is to be staged at Villa Maria winery in south Auckland on the weekend before Easter. The play, portraying the passion of Christ, will be put on by the southern parishes of Auckland diocese on Saturday, March 28. The venue at Villa Maria features a natural amphitheatre, being inside the crater Read more
Wellington’s Anglican Bishop Justin Duckworth has pledged that he will base his own income on a newly calculated living wage of $19.25 an hour. But this is complicated as he lives in church-provided accommodation, the New Zealand Herald reported. The new living wage level, calculated by the Anglican Family Centre, increased from $18.80 an hour Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic bishops have backed the New Zealand Government’s decision to deploy military personnel to help train Iraqi forces. The bishops released a statement on February 24, the same day Prime Minister John Key officially announced the deployment of up to 143 personnel. The deployment, likely in partnership with Australia, will probably start in Read more
Marian College in Christchurch will not be returning to its earthquake-damaged former site in North Parade in Shirley. A geotechnical assessment has confirmed that the former site will remain at risk of liquefaction, including subsidence and lateral spreading. Repair and rebuild estimates are comparatively expensive because of the nature of the land. Christchurch Bishop Barry Read more