Former Wigram MP Jim Anderton is calling on people to join a protest against the demolition of the Christchurch Cathedral which is being organised by the Restore Christchurch Cathedral Group for May 26 “If we could put thousands of people on the street, that would focus the minds of the Government and get the attention Read more
There have been more church buildings closed in the Christchurch diocese. Preliminary engineering assessments of Our Lady of Fatima Church (Mairehau) and St Mary and Francis de Sales Church (Rangiora) and the Catholic Social Services building has revealed that all three buildings are earthquake prone. The 126-year-old St Mary and Francis de Sales Church is Read more
To date the diocese has spent about $3 million deconstructing the damaged parts of the Blessed Sacrament cathedral, on cleaning and saving and numbering stones, windows and unique elements, and on transporting material, at night, to the new site. Management Board chairman Lance Ryan said discussions leading up to a decision on whether the cathedral Read more
Christchurch school children at five Catholic schools will have to move into temporary accommodation again because repair work needs to be done. Catholic Education Office manager Mike Nolan said classrooms at St Peter’s, Christ the King, Our Lady of Assumption, St Bernadette’s and St Mary’s schools will have to be vacated for between 10 and 12 Read more
Soon after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, our Prime Minister, John Key, spoke of the resurrection of Christchurch. He meant the rebuilding and regeneration of the city. As a Christchurch man himself, this came from the heart. In talking of resurrection, he wanted to give people hope amidst the terrible damage the city had sustained. Read more
A former Christchurch mayor, Garry Moore, says the Christchurch City Council should refuse provide public money for new cathedral to be built in the city. The temporary cathedral, to be built on the corner of the Hereford and Madras streets where the demolished St John’s Church once stood, is expected to cost about $5m. Insurance Read more
On Monday 16 April the Anglican Church announced plans for the “transitional” cathedral designed by a top Japanese “paper architect”. While public debate continues to rage over the decision by the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch to demolish Cathedral in the Square, columnist Jane Bowron notes there has been relative silence over the future of the Catholic Basilica Read more
Christchurch City Councillor Aaron Keown says the Anglican Church has used the extensive damage caused by last year’s February earthquake as an excuse to replace the cathedral with a more modern and cost effective building
Read the article...
There will be several months before any decision on 20 Catholic chuches in Canterbury can be made.
Five churches have been demolished, and a further 16, including the Basilica, have been out of action since December.
Financial Administrator, Paddy Beban, says at this stage the bill for rebuilding and repairing the churches is in excess of $120 million.
Source
The planned televised Cathedral Debate about the fate of the Christ Church Cathedral has been cancelled after the Anglican Church refused to take part.
Earlier this month, the church announced that most of the cathedral would be demolished after it suffered further damage in the December 23 aftershocks.
The decision has upset many residents and heritage advocates, while Cr Aaron Keown called for a televised debate about the cathedral’s future.
Read the article...