“Abhorrent and should never have happened” is how Archbishop Paul Martin describes the sexual abuse at Marylands School. Martin is responding in a media release to the Royal Commission’s interim report Stolen Lives, Marked Souls. The report into the St John of God brothers’ Marylands School in Christchurch was released on Wednesday. Martin suggests it Read more
Following allegations of unauthorised exorcisms, Bishop Michael Gielen has suspended all exorcisms in the Christchurch diocese and ordered a comprehensive review of the practice. Gielen is currently in Portugal at World Youth Day. The announcement arrives in the wake of a report by TV3 journalist Michael Morrah that exposed alleged unapproved exorcisms conducted by the Read more
In a historic development for New Zealand, Archbishop Paul Martin is set to receive his pallium in Wellington from Papal Nuncio Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa. This marks a departure from the tradition of archbishops travelling to Rome to receive the pallium directly from the Pope. Instead, Martin will receive it by mail. The pallium is a Read more
Priests are part of the church community; they ‘give savour’ to the community and are not the ‘main course’. The captivating comment that shed light on the role of priests within the Church was made on Saturday, by Monsignor Gerard Burns, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Wellington, during the installation ceremony of Catholic Read more
Newly installed Archbishop of Wellington, Paul Martin, issued a call to action to the Archdiocese of Wellington. “If the Church is going to do anything, it has to be us who do it,” he said, emphasising the importance of individual and collective responsibility in the Church’s mission. “The church doesn’t exist in some ethereal domain Read more
Archbishop Paul Martin is keen on a spiritual revival within the Archdiocese. In his first newsletter as Archbishop of Wellington, Martin highlighted the significance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the driving force behind building a strong Christian community and spreading the Good News, he said. “If I am not in love Read more
Following a legal challenge to the Vatican, Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew has withdrawn the decree of deconsecration of St Anthony of Padua Church, Martinborough. The news of deconsecration withdrawal came in a letter to Wairarapa Parish Priest Fr Bruce England and was distributed to the Martinborough community parishioners. With Dew recovering from an Read more
Three days after not allowing the printing or publication of a letter concerning parish restructuring and rebuilding a new Cathedral, bishop of Christchurch, Michael Gielen, released the letter. The 29 March move came after there was considerable interest in the letter’s contents, particularly from Catholics who could not be at Mass on the Sunday it Read more
Parish mergers, further sale of parish and diocesan land and building of a new Christchurch Catholic Cathedral have halted until the diocese hears back from Rome. The news was delivered by a letter read on behalf of the Bishop of Christchurch, Michael Gielen, at all Sunday Masses. Christchurch diocese parishioners told CathNews that Gielen had Read more
This month has seen over 330 new Catholic bishops taking part in a formation course in Rome. Among them was Archbishop Coadjutor Paul Martin, appointed the tenth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch in December 2017. He was consecrated in March 2018 (pictured). There isn’t usually such a time lag between being appointed bishop and attending the Read more