Karatea-Goddard's appointment was made by Maori-Tumu Whakarae of the Sisters of Compassion Group, the religious order founded by Meri Hohepa Mother Suzanne Aubert.

He will join Dr Chris Gallavin, appointed in March last year, in the co-chief executive position.

Karatea-Goddard has been the Maori adviser for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and Vicar for Maori with the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington.

The Conference's announcement of Karatea-Goddard's appointment was made in Te Reo and English.

Sister Margaret Anne Mills of the Sisters of Compassion says the appointment builds on Meri Hohepa Suzanne Aubert's bicultural work with Maori especially at Jerusalem on the Whanganui River in the 1880s.

"Our multicultural reality is only made real and will only be successful if we understand our bicultural foundation. We hold that the work of Meri Hohepa Suzanne Aubert is of pivotal importance in our journey toward true partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is an expression of our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi," Sister Margaret Anne says.

For Karatea-Goddard, the new appointment strikes home on a personal note.

"A number of my aunties, my children and I have been recipients of the mission of Meri Hohepa Suzanne Aubert.

"To be able to serve the Sisters of Compassion whanau is a privilege, and I am excited to join them as we explore deepening our commitment to biculturalism as we move into a new future in these uncertain times," he says.

The powhiri to welcome Karatea-Goddard into his new role will be held on Monday, May 23, in Hiruharama Jerusalem.

Source

• NZ Herald
• New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference

Correction

As an aggregation service, CathNews used a published media article which says a powhiri for Karatea-Goddard will be held on Monday, May 23, in Hiruharama Jerusalem.

A powhiri for Deacon Karatea-Goddard will be held at Our Lady's Home of Compassion in Island Bay on Monday 23 May 2022 at 10am, followed later by a powhiri in Hiruharama Jerusalem.

NZ Catholic reports that the hui, "Te Iwi Maori Katorika", is to be held at Whaiora Marae in Otara.

It aims to strengthen "Mana Maori" within the Church and the diocese and to "consider what leadership structure might be needed to develop this kaupapa".

The hui will feature three presenters - Sister Tui Cadigan, RSM (the chairperson of Te Runanga o te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa), Deacon Danny Karatea Goddard (an advisor to the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference) and historian Professor Peter Lineham from Massey University.

Speaking on behalf of the Diocesan Bicultural Committee for Auckland diocese, Fr Bernard Dennehy told NZ Catholic that "although the 1979 diocesan synod committed the diocese to promote a bicultural church and a bicultural society, there is little Maori participation in the structures of the diocese".

There is no Maori office or spokesperson at the Pompallier Diocesan Centre.

Dennehy said there was a Diocesan Maori Pastoral Council in Auckland during the 1970s and 1980s, but this no longer meets.

"The [present] Diocesan Pastoral Council has two Maori representatives, one for Auckland and one for Te Tai Tokerau.

"The Tai Tokerau Regional Pastoral Council continues to meet a few times a year. Both Maori and Pakeha attend the meetings but the format has changed from an overnight live-in on a marae, favoured by Maori, to a briefer one-day session, favoured by Pakeha."

Given the minimal representation of Maori in the Church, the November hui will be an opportunity for committed Maori Catholics, young and old, to listen to three speakers and work out strategies and plans to move forward.

Source

• NZ Catholic
• Image: Catholic Diocese of Auckland

Danny has been appointed the new Turanga Maori in the Archdiocese of Wellington.

Hundreds of whanau, students, staff and friends travelled to Wellington to join people from the Archdiocese at the powhiri.

The bishop of Palmerston North, Bishop Charles Drennan, handed over Danny and Maru to the Archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew.

Throughout the gathering there were mihi, waiata and karakia.

Cardinal John thanked Bishop Charles for bringing the Danny and Maru to the Archdiocese.

"We know they will make a great contribution here and will also teach and challenge us. By accompanying them here and handing them over to us, I thank you for your willingness and generosity."

The New Zealand bishops announced in early February that Karatea-Goddard will also be taking on a new part-time role with Secretariat for Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa - the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

His role will be to supporting the secretariat and the bishops in their commitment to Katorika Maori.

Drennan, who is secretary of the NZCBC, said ‘Deacon Danny together with his wife Maru and whanau have been a tremendous blessing to the Diocese of Palmerston North, particularly since Danny's ordination to the Diaconate.

"Danny's gift of articulating Catholic Maori thinking and illuminating faith at work among Maori will be of invaluable help in our formation as Bishops and our ability to shepherd tangata whenua."

Source

• wn.catholic.org.nz
• Image: wn.catholic.org.nz

He will be supporting the secretariat and the bishops in their commitment to Katorika Maori.

The role will be a part time one. He will also have direct pastoral responsibilities in the Archdiocese Wellington as Turanga Maori.

Karatea-Goddard has worked in the Palmerston North Diocese for some years as Vicar for Maori. He was ordained a deacon in June 2014.

He made a strong contribution to the Maori Translation team for the National Liturgy Office for the further development of liturgical texts in te reo.

With his wife Maru he served on Te Runanga o te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa.

Karatea-Goddard is qualified teacher.

Before working for the Church, he worked in the field of education at all levels, and in Maori development.

His experiences have centred around being a facilitator, consultant, teacher and writer.

Karatea-Goddard's iwi affiliations are Maniapoto, Kinohaku, Matakore, Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua, Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri and Ngati Hine.

"Many would not know that my wife Maru and I were born in Wellington and I grew up and was educated there,"Karatea-Goddard said.

"We are both first recipients of Whakatupuranga Ruamano - Generation 2000, a tribal plan initiated in the 1970s by the Confederation of Ngati Raukawa-te-au-ki-te-Tonga, Ngati Toarangatira and Te Ati Awa."

"Both my late parents were community advocates for social justice and peace, unionism, lifelong education and kaumatua of Pipitea marae."

"My mother's family still reside in Wellington City and my father's whanau in Tainui-Maniapoto and North Auckland."

There will be a powhiri for Katatea-Goddard to welcome him to the Welington Archdiocese.

It will take place Monday 27 February, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Hill St, Wellington.

People will gather outside the cathedral at 12.30pm before the powhiri commences at 1pm.

Source

• Welcom
• NZCBC
• Image: Welcom

These were the words of Pope St John Paul II on his visit to our shores in 1986.

His words were powerful then and are just as powerful now because in an increasingly secular society, these words remind us that we are all called, as we are, to be part of the Church. Indeed, we - Pakeha, Pacific Islander, Maori people and more - are the Church.

And in New Zealand, it was Maori who first heard the call. It is because of this that the Catholic Church in New Zealand has a uniquely Maori foundation.

But in almost 30 years since the great pope reminded us of that, I wonder how many priests, lay ministry and other leaders take what he said into account?

In my own voluntary work in the Church, I regularly have to remind people of this.

Maorifying Mass a cop-out

Sometimes, it is almost a battle as priests or lay leaders push back at attempts to 'Maorify' mass, a church event, or a committee. Other times, people have claimed to be ignorant of things Maori and used that as an excuse not to bother.

Well, frankly, that is a cop-out.

I acknowledge and respect efforts, such as the work that has been done on a Maori missal, and even smaller things such as the fact that in many churches across the country mass begins with the sign of the cross in te reo Maori.

But I've been to mass many times where, after the initial "Ki te ingoa o te Matua, me te Tamaiti, me te Wairua Tapu" you could be mistaken for thinking you are at mass in Australia or some other predominantly white, English speaking country with a marginalised indigenous population.

Revolution? Or culture shift

I know the bishops are trying to encourage more vocations among Maori, and I acknowledge that Maori have just as much a role to play in that, but without a culture shift in thinking in the Church, Maori will continue to feel like outsiders and they will, as has increasingly been the case over the past decade, go elsewhere (think of the very Maori-friendly Destiny Church, and the bicultural Anglican Church of Aotearoa as examples).

The culture shift need not be a major revolution.

I sense that goodwill is already there among many Catholic leaders across the country. But what is needed is for all Church leaders, ordained and lay, to approach the day to day business of the Church with a different lens. That is, a lens that is not exclusively white.

This shouldn't be hard if people just thought more about the foundation of the Church in New Zealand.

The roots of the Catholic Church as an institution may well be firmly in some foreign land, where they don't speak English or Maori, but leaders here should approach their work with the knowledge that the foundation of the Church in this country is quite different to how it looks and feels today.

With open minds and open hearts, this can be changed.

Ordination of Maori deacon brings hope

This is why I was delighted to attend the ordination of my uncle, Danny Karatea-Goddard, who on 7 June was ordained a deacon in Palmerston North.

What could have been a very foreign experience for the 600 or so, mostly Maori, members of the congregation, was actually a very uplifting bilingual and bicultural event.

What this particular service highlighted to me is that with a bit of effort priests and lay leaders, in partnership with the congregation, can make mass a place where Maori feel at home rather than a place that is so foreign, so non-Maori, so white, that it drives them away. In this sense, this article has been written with Pacific and young people in mind too.

The ordination mass in Palmerston North was the result; I'm sure, of hard work by all involved.Yes, you need to have Maori willing to step up just as much as you need priests and lay ministers with an open mind.

The current bishop of Palmerston North, Bishop Charles Drennan, inherited a diocese from one of the strongest supporters of Maori in the Catholic Church.

Bishop Peter Cullinane was widely respected by Maori communities across the diocese he led for 30 years and his successor showed a strong sign of continuing on with that spirit of leadership by making an effort to recite much of the mass in te reo Maori, and, more importantly, give a homily with Maori themes throughout.

A genuine attempt to connect to the congregation, which as a young adult, I feel is something lacking in masses that I attend.

For years I have been discussing with priests the need for them to learn te reo Maori and to make mass more inviting for Maori and young people. For far too long the institutional face and leadership of the Church has been mono-cultural.

In fact, in New Zealand, it has always been white, bar a short period where a mentor of mine, Bishop Max Takuira Mariu, sat on the Bishops' Conference.

I could also go on about the second-class status of women, but that's another issue altogether and something that fundamentally needs to be changed from Rome (yes, I'm advocating for women priests — and, while I'm at it, for all priests to be allowed to marry). But those are things for a bigger, longer global campaign.

The main issue I raise in this article is not near as complex and could be addressed with a bit of effort by the leaders at all levels of the Church in NZ.

Why am I hopeful?

What happened in Palmerston North gives me hope.

It does so because the whole experience was based on a different kind of thinking to what we are used to.

Perhaps it is because a Maori lens was used, and while I'm sure it was challenging for the more conservative in the congregation to watch, I believe that this approach is positive and needs to be replicated across the country.

This shift in thinking needs to be prevalent not just for special occasions such as an ordination mass, but in the everyday life of the church.

Such an approach can only be good for all Catholics (not just Maori).

There is a unique story and history in this country that belongs to each of us, and, in many ways shapes our identity. It's a history we can all be proud of.

But there is also a very practical reason for my call for a culture shift, and if it does not change, the Church will continue to see many Maori (and young people) leaving to go to places they feel more at home.

Honouring its roots will strengthen the Church we have today. And in the times ahead with critical social and environmental challenges before us, a strong Church is needed now more than ever.

Areti Metuamate is a PhD student in Pacific Studies at the Australian National University, Canberra. He is a council member of the Catholic Institute and has served on Te Runanga o te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa and the National Committee for World Youth Day.