Instead of lighting fireworks on November 5, two Anglican priests will be recognising Taranaki’s history with a special church service in Eltham. The Rev Paul Bowers-Mason, an Anglican missioner, and Rev Vincent Nuku (Ngāti Ruanui) are holding the first ever bilingual service at All Saints Church with prayers, songs and readings in both Māori and Read more
New Zealand
Bilingual church service planned for Eltham on anniversary of Parihaka invasion
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023Exquisite Erskine Chapel restored after 38-year wait
Monday, October 30th, 2023
Wellington’s historic Erskine Chapel has finally been restored. The lovely French Gothic-style beauty reopened with a special service on Thursday after being left to the vagaries of time for almost 40 years. Saving beauty Built in 1929, the chapel boasts a marble altar, stained-glass windows and a soaring ceiling. The chapel is considered one of Read more
NZ Catholic Church Synod delegates have big responsibility on shoulders
Monday, October 30th, 2023
Pope Francis is asking for synodality in all parishes, presenting the Catholic Church in New Zealand with a monumental task, none more so than for the Synod delegates. While Synodality will not happen overnight, indeed there is a part two of the Synod in October 2024, CathNews spoke with some ‘synod watching’ Catholics about tasking Read more
Israel-Hamas war: NZ Human Rights Commission urges reporting of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism
Monday, October 30th, 2023New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission has urged people to report any instances of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or other discrimination as the conflict rages between Israel and Hamas. It comes after reports of disorder at Auckland War Memorial Museum when a small number of Palestinian sympathisers gathering to rally against the building being lit up in Israeli Read more
Jehovah’s Witness’ bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry dismissed
Monday, October 30th, 2023A legal bid by the Jehovah’s Witness church to get out of being part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has been dismissed by the High Court in Wellington. After nearly three years of behind-the-scenes legal wrangling to avoid scrutiny from the Inquiry, the church applied for a judicial review in Read more
New Hamilton Catholic Bishop is a local lad
Thursday, October 26th, 2023
The new Catholic Bishop-elect of Hamilton, Fr Richard Laurenson, does not wear clerical black. He puts his avoidance of black down to Josie, his cat. Late Wednesday night, Pope Francis appointed the 55-year-old Laurenson (pictured) the new Catholic Bishop of Hamilton. Trust is fundamental Laurenson says he is looking forward to his new role with Read more
Stop the war say NZ Catholic, NZ Anglican bishops and the Pope
Thursday, October 26th, 2023
Stop the war! The war in the Holy Land must stop. Now. Please. Just stop. In a joint statement, Bishops from New Zealand’s two biggest Christian Churches – Catholic and Anglican – are begging the warring factions in the Holy Land to stop. Stop the war with the accompanying acts of violence it executes, the Read more
New Zealand’s cricket squad calls on the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala
Thursday, October 26th, 2023The Men’s Cricket World Cup – one of the world’s most popular sporting events – has touched down in Dharamsala. On Tuesday, the New Zealand cricket team and their families visited the Dalai Lama at his residence in the city at the edge of the Himalayas that serves as the seat of the Tibetan government Read more
NZ urged to make it easier for people moving from low-lying Pacific Islands
Thursday, October 26th, 2023New Zealand is being urged to create immigration pathways for people in low-lying Pacific nations – such as Tuvalu and Kiribati – who are leaving their countries because of the increasing effects of climate change. As a number of islands in the Pacific region face ongoing effects of the climate crisis, residents are struggling to Read more
Patriarch to tell NZ of Syrian and Lebanese Christians’ reality
Thursday, October 19th, 2023
The miserable reality of Syrian and Lebanese Christians’ lives will be presented to New Zealand and Australian audiences next month. His Beatitude Joseph Absi – the Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and all the East – has agreed to be a guest speaker at Aid to the Church in Need’s Night of the Witnesses event Read more