An optimistic crowd on Saturday packed a very hot Christchurch Boys’ High School auditorium for the ordination of Bishop Paul Martin SM. Martin, ordained the tenth Bishop of Christchurch on 3 March 2018, by Cardinal John Dew, succeeds Bishop Barry Jones, who died in February 2016. In a ceremony involving Latin, Māori and English, Pope Francis’ Read more
Christchurch Bishop-elect says re-siting Marian College is his number one priority. Students from Marion College have, for six years, operated from a temporary building. Currently, Marian College is sited at the southern end of the earthquake-damaged cathedral. “They have had a whole generation of students go through since the earthquakes”, he told The Press. A Read more
Construction is set to begin on the central Christchurch site where three people were killed in the February earthquake. Neil Stocker, Paul Dunlop and Scott Lucy died when Durham Street Methodist Church – one of the city’s oldest stone buildings – collapsed in the earthquake, burying them under rubble. The three men were recovering a Read more
On February 22, 2011 at 12.51pm I was in Christchurch having lunch with Bishop Victoria Matthews. I am ever grateful that her choice of restaurant meant we were sitting on large bench seats in a corner away from windows. As we sheltered under the sturdy tables, I learnt that in the advice “duck, cover and hold”, Read more
One of New Zealand’s worst child sex offenders once got a job at a King Country school as a result of an alleged reference from a Catholic school. Robert Selwyn Burrett, 64, pleaded guilty to 21 child sex abuse charges last month. His 40-year career in New Zealand’s education system came to an end last Read more
After Bishop Stephen Lowe was ordained as the third Bishop of Hamilton on February 13, he told the people that God does amazing things using simple things. The use of water in Baptism and bread and wine in Communion are examples of this, Bishop Lowe said. “With sinful and weak men, [the Lord’s] priesthood lives Read more
I am pretty sure the Anglican Church doesn’t get out of bed in the morning looking to infuriate people, hence I tend to side with them when it comes to ChristChurch Cathedral. They got another court win late last week and are now basically allowed to get on with the demolition, as in deed they Read more
“God willing they’re going to learn from it,” is the reaction of St Bede’s College, rector, Justin Boyle to four year 10 boys who have been stood down for cyber-bullying. Boyle said cyber-bullying is even more insidious because the younger generation is on the whole far more adept in their use of technology than parents Read more
Insurer of churches, schools and historic buildings Ansvar paid out $511 million of claims last year, settling more than three-quarters of the earthquake claims lodged with the company. That’s according to the company’s latest financial results, for the year to December 2012, published yesterday. Ansvar was inundated with claims after the Canterbury earthquakes and withdrew Read more