Opening an op shop was exactly what a group of Pregnancy Help volunteers decided they needed to fund their service for pregnant women and their families. That was fifty years ago. The shop’s 50th anniversary this week was marked with volunteers old and new from Levin’s Uniting Church getting together to celebrate and reflect on Read more
The Royal Commission’s reports into the abuse of young people in state care are shocking and important but we must acknowledge that the most dangerous institution in New Zealand are families. In fact, it’s a relatively small percentage of families. More damage is done to children by these families than by the state. Regarding the Read more
If people are providing a ministry to families, they must make sure they actually know what the families need, Pope Francis says. The Catholic Church cannot claim to safeguard marriage and family life if it simply repeats its traditional teaching without supporting, encouraging and caring for real families. This is especially when families are struggling Read more
First published in 2016, Amoris Laetitia, which simply means ‘The Joy of Love’, is a post-synodal apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis addressing the pastoral care of families including marriage and the day to day challenges faced by families throughout the world. Amoris Laetitia encourages both clergy and members of the laity to accompany and care Read more
Grandparents give you cancer. Many of us heard this news on the radio last week as we bundled our children into their coats, their hats, the hat with ears, why do all kids’ hats have ears? What’s behind H&M’s grand plan to turn every child under five into a rodent by new year, they’re kids for Read more
A new book aimed at strengthening the family to become communities of life and love is to be launched in Wellington in November. Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive has been written and compiled by Patricia Alfonso-Sison. It is based on the preparatory catechism of the same title from the 8th World Meeting of Families, Read more
One of the most daunting things about sending our boy to boarding school was that, for the first six weeks, aside from handwritten letters, we weren’t allowed to have any contact with him. In the pre-email, pre-free calling era, this would have been fairly standard. Back in the day, boarding school parents didn’t have much choice Read more
New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops are disappointed that workers’ family time is under threat in the Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill. MPs have voted 75 to 45 in favour of the bill, moving it to the Commerce Committee for consideration. “We are disappointed that the vote in favour of sending the Shop Trading Hours Amendment Bill Read more
The Italian Church will help struggling families pay overdue utility bills for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The initiative to help people who face having their utilities cut off was launched by Italy’s bishops as part of the Jubilee tradition of forgiving debts. “We are starting a project for the jubilee that sees mercy as Read more
The Primate of Ireland has criticised the synod on the family’s working document for not recognising the impacts of domestic violence and abuse on families. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh said it would be a mistake for the synod to overlook the “shattering” effects of clerical sexual abuse on families. In his synod intervention, Archbishop Read more