On November 1, 2023, Pope Francis issued the “Motu Proprio” Ad theologiam promovendam indicating how theology today “is called to a turning point, to a paradigm shift.” The Pope signalled how this shift must foster a “fundamentally contextual theology” based on a nexus between relationships, experience, and no longer being self-referential. The following offers a Read more
Against a background of ongoing legal matters, Bishop Steve Lowe, the apostolic administrator of the Hamilton Diocese, is accused of not being pastoral enough in his response to a victim of clergy abuse. The Waikato Times reports a woman from within the Hamilton Catholic diocese saying that in a meeting with Lowe, she told him Read more
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests – SNAP NZ – has written to Pope Francis urging him to instruct the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference to initiate an urgent, independent and transparent review of the National Office of Professional Standards and its principles and procedures document, A Path to Healing. SNAP’s unhappy letter to Read more
SNAP Aotearoa New Zealand is calling for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI to be prosecuted if evidence proves he obstructed clerical child abuse complaints when he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Christopher Longhurst, who coordinates Aotearoa New Zealand’s Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) was commenting on the likelihood of Benedict’s knowledge of Read more
Two survivor groups are at acrimonious odds over the Dunedin diocese’s commercial agreement for helping abuse survivors. In March, the diocese struck a memorandum of understanding with the Male Survivors of Aotearoa (MSA) support group. The document details the process where abuse survivors are referred to MSA, which in turn will help survivors access counselling Read more
Sir Anand Satyanand’s sudden resignation from the The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry is being seen as a sign of the commission’s dysfunctionality, say survivors. The say they’re losing faith that the Inquiry will uncover the extent of what happened to children in state and church care. Some of them hope Sir Anand Read more
Could a practising Catholic do a good, honest job of chairing the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care and Faith-based Institutions? Yes. To disqualify chairman Sir Anand Satyanand simply on the basis of his own faith, rather than any deeds, would be to indulge intolerance. The church has far too often been a place Read more
Sir Anand Satyanand offered to withdraw as head of the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and Care in Faith-Based Institutions. Some have expressed concern about a perceived conflict of interest because of his Catholic faith. Documents obtained by Stuff show Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin rejected his offer. Instead, she asked Satyanand Read more