Former Cabinet minister Chris Finlayson, a practicing Catholic, is also unsparing in his critiques of the Catholic Church. Finlayson says he has vigorously chided church leaders who try to intervene in politics. On one occasion the Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, invited him to a picnic on Parliament’s lawn. Finlayson says Dew wanted to Read more
Conservative Catholics attempted to gatecrash the invitation-only National Synod meeting in Wellington last weekend. Before the meeting, a request was made to the bishops asking that at least one independent person might observe, but the request was declined. However, a statement received by CathNews says that nevertheless, two people who thought they should be at Read more
Radical, unrealistic and even heretical suggestions were part of the conversation background at the New Zealand Catholic Church’s national Synod synthesis group that met at St Catherine’s College, Wellington last weekend. The national Synod synthesis in New Zealand is the latest part of the local Church’s participation in the Pope’s Synodal path to the Church’s Read more
Archbishop John Dew is delighted to say that Coadjutor Archbishop Paul Martin is now living permanently in Wellington. He made the announcement in a newsletter to priests and lay pastoral workers. Last year Dew welcomed the news of Martin’s appointment as Coadjutor Archbishop, however, only occasionally in the Archdiocese, Martin resided primarily in Christchurch where Read more
Survivor trauma, systemic failures and a failure to act on a complaint of sexual abuse are the reasons Dunedin bishop, Michael Dooley is changing Kavanagh College’s name to Trinity College. The change takes place on January 1, 2023. The move by Dooley comes after a report shows former Dunedin bishop, John Kavanagh, did not act Read more
Archbishop of Wellington Cardinal John Dew says Pope Francis is deeply concerned about the invasion being justified as a holy war. In recent weeks, the Russia’s Patriarch Kirill has used religious language to justify his support for Russia’s military aggression. Even Kirill’s own supporters are looking elsewhere, says Dew. “The invasion has created new ecumenical Read more
On Monday 28 February CathNews NZ reported on an open letter written to you by a group of anonymous Catholic men, which asks you to advocate to the government that they review and remove Covid-19 vaccination mandates. Although we have not been able to find the text of the letter on any public website or Read more
Churches are among the high risk places to avoid at present, say public health professor Nick Wilson and epidemiologist Michael Baker (pictured). As daily Omicron cases soar throughout the country, avoiding high risk places means steering clear of bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, churches and protests. Retail shops, offices, lifts, stairwells, malls, community pools, public transport Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic bishops have been asked to help persuade the government to review the Covid vaccine mandate. In their over 3000-word letter, a group identifying simply as “catholic men” tell the bishops not to “try to combine faith … with the making of distinctions between classes of people”. They say “practical reason makes evident Read more
The Catholic Church in New Zealand says it’s too soon to bring the police into the historic abuse in care findings Church investigations have uncovered. A more thorough investigation will have to be undertaken first in relation to the 1680 recorded instances of alleged abuse reported since 1950 – of which 592 alleged abusers were Read more