We should "unmute ourselves", and everyone should share their dreams for the Church says Auckland's bishop, Patrick Dunn.

We should also consider "outrageous" issues in walking the synodal journey, Dunn said as he opened the synod in his Auckland.

As Auckland remained in level 3 lockdown, Dunn led the liturgy opening on Zoom, Facebook live and YouTube.

Auckland's synodal journey will involve people being invited next month to gather in small groups, he said.

"I realise that this couldn't be a more inconvenient time for us in Auckland diocese. We're in lockdown. It's coming up for Christmas and the summer break . . . It might have to be on Zoom or online, please God, it might be able to be in person.

"But we're asking people to share what is in your hearts and to listen to what others have to say."

Dunn suggests questions to ponder could include: What is our dream for the Church? How do we think the Church could or should change? How would we like the Church to be?

"One really big question, it's a little bit of an outrageous one, is: does the current parish structure suit our purposes, especially in an urban setting.

"Parishes have been very resilient through history, but are we perhaps being called to think of a different model or different models in a large city like Auckland city itself?"

Dunn also wants people to consider how effective we are as a Church in caring for the poor.

"Even with the present vaccination programme in New Zealand, one of the points being highlighted in the past couple of weeks has been groups who feel on the fringes of society.

"They feel that they don't belong to mainstream New Zealand society. That mainstream New Zealand society doesn't care about them. Are we caring for them?" Dunn asked.

It's important even as people share their thoughts and dreams during the synodal journey, that they also listen to others, especially those who may be overlooked in our society.

Wellington's Cardinal John Dew stressed the call to serve in his homily at the synod's opening at St Teresa's Pro-Cathedral.

2015 Dew said he was struck by two specific lines in Pope Francis's speech at the Synod on the Family.

"The first was ‘the only authority we have is the authority of service.'

"I have repeated it many, many times, and I will never forget him saying those words," he said.

"The second was, ‘it is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium'."

This synod is about what kind of Church we imagine and want for the future.

"It's hard to be succinct and to put into a homily what ‘synodality' is, but, in a nutshell, it is about all members of the Church, all of us, walking the path of life together, truly listening to and being of service to one another," he said.

The pope is determined the synod will re-capture Second Vatican Council's vision, Dew said.

"Let's make it an adventure: walking together with faith; listening to each other (as Francis put it, ‘How good is the hearing of your heart?'); engaging in a process of healing guided by the Holy Spirit, and supporting one another, looking for new paths and new ways of speaking."

Source

• NZ Catholic
• Image: Catholic Diocese of Auckland

The New Zealand bishops' conference (NZBC) says these concerns involved a number of victims of abuse in the Dunedin Diocese who had complained that Kavanagh had not properly dealt with their complaints of sexual abuse by priests.

The bishops' concerns about Kavanagh were referred to the Vatican late last year, in line with Pope Francis' 2019 decree, "Vos estis lux mundi."

New Zealand's Metropolitan Archbishop, Cardinal John Dew has now asked the National Office for Professional Standards (NOPS) to look into Kavanagh's response to these complaints while he was bishop from 1957 until he died in 1985.

NOPS is the Church's complaints body. It, in turn, appointed Christchurch senior investigator Micky Earl to conduct the investigation.

Dew says Earl will focus on finding out what information Kavanagh had regarding complaints of sexual abuse. He will also look into whether Kavanagh met his obligations as bishop in how he responded to and managed those complaints.

One of the priests Kavanagh was allegedly told about was Magnus Murray, who offended against boys in Dunedin from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Newspaper reports say Murray's offences were brought to Kavanagh's attention in 1972.

Kavanagh's response was to move Murray to Australia. He later allowed him to resume public ministry in the North Island. New victims have since emerged from that period.

Abuse survivors, their supporters and a group of former pupils have called for the name of Dunedin's Kavanagh College - named after the late bishop - to be changed.

Kavanagh College Board of Trustees chairwoman Barb Long has declined to comment about any decisions about renaming the school at this stage. This is because the investigation is independent and the school was not part of it, she says.

Dew is also waiting for the outcome of the investigation and its recommendations. He says these could help form the basis of any decision to rename the college.

Anyone who has any concerns regarding inappropriate behaviour in a Church setting should contact NOPS to report their concerns, Dew says.

"NOPS operates independently of diocesan and Congregation structures. It contracts professional, experienced and independent third-party investigators to conduct investigations on its behalf.

"We are committed to a safe environment for all within the Church community. Any form of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour in the Church community is not acceptable."

NOPS can be contacted by free phone on 0800 114 622, or by email at prof.standards@nzcbc.org.nz Go here for the NOPS website, which includes the latest edition of A Path to Healing.

In addition to contacting NOPS, the Church also encourages victims of abuse to contact the police or the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care.

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• Otago Daily Times
• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: NZ Catholic