Agencies working with the homeless community are worried that people living on the street will be left behind if there is a community outbreak of Covid-19. Homeless advocacy group Gimme Shelter has estimated 40,000 or more New Zealanders are currently defined as homeless, About 5000 sleeping rough and the rest live in inadequate, temporary, or overcrowded Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops have announced the suspension of all celebrations of Mass until further notice. The move come in response to the strong Government restrictions on public gatherings to counter the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn, President of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, said the bishops met this morning to carefully Read more
Pray Today NZ, a service of the Word using the Sunday readings began on the Internet in New Zealand yesterday. The lay-fronted reflection is designed for use on social media and is very ‘home-grown’ and ‘raw’. Work on the initiative ‘Pray Today NZ‘ began early last week, however, the decision to record and release the Read more
“All Masses Cancelled” That sign has just gone up outside my local church. Who could have imagined it just a couple of weeks ago? Most Catholics are simply glad. Large gatherings are just what we do not want at the moment. The loving thing right now is to keep our distance lest we catch and Read more
When two or three are gathered on Facebook, is Christ there? When 10 Jews meet on a Zoom call, is it a minyan? Over the past few days, as states have asked houses of worship to suspend services, synagogues have held muted Purim celebrations and other religious meetings and services have been cancelled, people have Read more
Since the fall of the fascist dictator Mussolini, the state in Italy has been a rather nebulous entity. Governments rise and fall — 61 since the end of the Second World War, but who’s counting? – yet things have kept on just fine. Where the state was for the most part invisible, the Catholic Church Read more
In light of concerns about the new coronavirus, churches are ordering boxes filled with hundreds of prepackaged Communion cups and wafers. Read more
As is already clear from the sudden rash of closings, cancellations and diagnoses of prominent people, the coronavirus outbreak is spreading rapidly. In response, many bishops around the world have taken the difficult but prudent step of dispensing the faithful from their Sunday Mass obligation. Those decisions are to be commended for the sake of Read more
The Christian faith is not just a personal commitment, it is also a communal experience. From the very beginning, Christians have gathered to share the Word of God and break bread in confined spaces. They drank from the same cup and shared a holy kiss. They also cared for the poor and the sick. All Read more
On Saturday The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, confirmed he had been advised that a parishioner at St Mary’s Church in Papakura was diagnosed with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Dunn said the 5 pm Vigil Mass at St Mary’s on Saturday and the 8.30 am and 10.30 am Masses on Sunday would go ahead Read more