Damian Dempsey has been appointed the new Executive Director of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. Dempsey brings a strong justice and mission lens and executive management experience to the appointment. He was a member of the Society of Mary for 25 years, working in formation, education, and community development in New Zealand and in Read more
Two doctors expecting a baby in August have been caught up in national security checks and face having to decide whether to emigrate. The orthopaedic house officer, who did not want his name used, was born in Iran and has dual Canadian citizenship as he moved there when he was 14. He and his New Read more
A respected Christchurch Catholic priest was attacked on Good Friday. Assailants jumped on Father Alister Castillo at about 1am when he tried to help an injured person in Fendalton. “They just beat the living daylights out of me … I hope they recognise what they did was wrong,” he said. Castillo, who serves at the Read more
St Peter’s College in Gore has been placed in limited statutory management. The move “in no way suggests closure,” the Education Ministry says. The state-integrated year 7 to 15 co-educational Catholic school has about 450 pupils. Ministry of Education leader for the South, Nancy Bell, directed a limited statutory manager’s (LSM) appointment on 5 April. Read more
CCTV helped identify a man who, on Thursday, set fire to the Day Chapel in the Palmerston North Cathedral. According to the Cathedral Parish Priest, Fr Joseph Grayland, the man was caught on camera lighting the fire. Grayland says the fire shocked everyone. The alarm was raised by a man who is in Palmerston North Read more
Rents for small houses have reached record-breaking new highs with the median weekly rent for an apartment hitting $540 per week, according to the latest Trade Me Rental Price Index. Rental figures for March 2023 show rents for apartments and one to two-bedroom homes are soaring. The median weekly rent for apartments is up 8 Read more
After seeing what Sustainable Napier was doing with the Napier Repair Café, Hastings local James Taylor wanted to make a space where Hastings residents could come and fix broken or damaged belongings instead of throwing them out and buying more. Opening in May, the Hastings Repair Café is a new initiative that provides tools and Read more
New Council recommendations may see Christchurch’s new Catholic Cathedral precinct and 600-space parking building go ahead after all. This will come as a relief to developers and the Christchurch Catholic diocese. The diocese was providing $30 million towards development costs – funds it raised for the purpose. Plans with developers were well underway last month Read more
After being voted into a leadership role at her Catholic parish, a 78-year old nana decided she had to get her driver’s licence. She faced a few challenges, though. English is her second language. Sepiuta Skudder had never had a licence or even driven a car. Her husband or one of the children always drove Read more
New Zealand’s National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) looks forward to hearing from either the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (pictured) or the Dicastery for Evangelisation regarding a new sex abuse memorandum. On 21 April the heads of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for Evangelisation signed Read more