The Catholic Church throughout New Zealand made serious mistakes in its approach to Māori, and using te reo during Eucharist helps us become more inclusive even in our daily lives. The comments about parish sacramental celebrations come from Palmerston North’s Bishop emeritus, Peter Cullinane, in an article published in Tui Motu. Citing examples of the Read more
In 1817, Lord Byron is said to have challenged an Italian cardinal to a multilingual cursing contest. The English poet reputedly opened the contest by uttering as many different imprecations as he could in the languages he had studied. Byron recalled later that he swore “in all the tongues in which I knew a single Read more
Pope Francis’ “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada began with an impassioned apology, setting the scene for the 6-day pilgrimage. The apology is only a first step towards reconciliation. The pilgrimage began Monday, July 25. The first act on the Canadian “penitential pilgrimage,” was the return of two pairs of children’s moccasins on 25 July. “I am Read more
It’s a long-standing joke that the Church of England exists largely to remove any idea of religion from our national life. The more the Church has sought to make its services more “inclusive” and “relevant”, the more Christians have converted to other denominations where they think things are done properly (notably Roman Catholicism), and the more those curious Read more
On 24 July the Scottish Episcopal Conference announced that after careful study it had, like so many other Anglophone episcopal conferences, opted for the English Standard Version-Catholic Edition (ESV-CE) for its publication of a new lectionary. The bishops noted that they had carefully considered the matter, noted the learned opinion supporting their decision, and then Read more
The Salvation Army is concerned that the Government’s Health Response Bill, designed to empower police to deal with breaches of Covid-19 alert level 2 rules, does not consider spiritual wellbeing alongside physical wellbeing. The Army considers Sunday church services an ‘essential service’, as they offer spiritual health; a vital component of wellbeing. They say that Read more
Last week, Vatican Media interviewed Fr. Paulo Suess, a German priest who has served for decades among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Fr. Suess is in Rome as an official of the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, and is regarded there as an expert on the region. The priest was asked about a Read more
I’ve loved languages since Year 9, when I started learning French and Japanese at Baradene College, in Remuera. The only other language on offer at the time was German — there was no te reo Māori, and definitely no Sāmoan on the menu. (To put that in context, it was the ‘90s and I was Read more
Christians, and other religious communities, have long adapted to changes in media technologies. The emergence of writing, the move from scroll to codex, the printing press, the spread of literacy, the development of electronic media (radio, telephone, film, and television), and the subsequent rise of digital communication (social media, websites, digital publishing) provide obvious examples. Read more
An increasing number of businesses and government organisations are now getting certified for cultural capability through the CQ Tick. The CQ Tick is a measure of an organisation’s cultural capability as a critical competency for 21st Century leaders – and for their organisations to win diverse customers and to retain diverse staff – is the Read more