It is a standing date that I look forward to every other Sunday afternoon with great excitement. My dear friend MC and I meet at a cozy cafe in Detroi. There we splurge for a delicious drink (and, OK, maybe a sweet treat too). We begin our time by unpacking our lives. We share our Read more
A Government move to widen the criteria for co-opting members onto school boards needs a cautious approach. The proposed changes would see the criteria including members’ genders, sexualities and sexes. In its submission on the Education and Training Amendment Bill No. 3, the Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS) issued a clear warning. APIS Read more
The NZ Media Council has upheld religious bias complaints against a Stuff online story. The November 2022 article slamming Tauranga’s Bethlehem College and its views on gender issues was unfair, the Council says. Stuff culled the story from an article school counsellor Marli de Klerk had uploaded to the College’s Facebook page. Using the (since Read more
Hastings charity Thermals for Children surprised a group of young Cyclone Gabrielle survivors with a swag of unexpected gifts last week. With the Hastings Catholic Parish support, the charity fundraises and supplies local schools with hundreds of bundles of thermals and track pants each winter. This year the parish have raised more than $26,000 for Read more
Perhaps you are wondering, “What is Laudato Si’ Week?” And for that matter, what does Laudato Si’ mean? Laudato Si’ is medieval Italian for “Praise be to you.” It is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi’s beautiful Canticle of the Creatures: “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains Read more
To fully grasp what Jesus was really ‘on-about’ during His public ministry can only happen in light of Pentecost Sunday. The disciples not only linked the dots but were convinced without a doubt that ‘their mutual friend’ was the Son of the Living God. He was the Saviour their ancestor had pined for. Jesus’ execution Read more
Lack of money and high prices are causing food shortages in hundreds of thousands of New Zealand homes. Foodbank demand is soaring. Working families are among the growing number lining up for help as the cost of living and inflation bubble upwards. Food shortages are hitting food banks too. Like “Mother Hubbard“, who went to Read more
A lifetime’s service to healing the land has seen Waikato University honour Tauranga Catholic, Rob McGowan with a prestigious award. Known to many as ‘Pa Ropata’, McGowan is this year’s University of Waikato Medal recipient. The award recognises community service at a local or regional level. “Rob has made a significant and sustained contribution to Read more
Priests in France will soon be required to carry ID cards featuring QR codes that can be scanned to determine if they have been involved in sexual abuse cases. The introduction of these wallet-sized ID cards aims to enhance transparency within the Catholic Church and clamp down on sexual abuse. However, the move has received Read more
Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican’s prominent charity, has elected Japanese Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo as its new president. The election follows a period of turmoil that led Pope Francis to remove the previous leadership team. Caritas Internationalis is keen to build a future and wants to move forward together. Archbishop Kikuchi takes over from Read more