People flocked to St Peter’s Square earlier today in anticipation of yet another huge crowd, for Pope Francis’ Inauguration Mass, among them were pilgrims from New Zealand and the South Pacific. At 10pm the streets were blocked and cafes and restaurants were closed, leaving just security personnel, who shared food and coffee with a handful of Read more
It was with some sadness that New Zealand Catholic Bishops woke to the news of Pope Benedict XVI is to resign from his papacy at the end of the month. “While we are sad that his papacy is coming to an end, we understand the humility, prayer and reflection that will have been behind this Read more
For seven years, Barry Lowe’s parents refused to meet his partner, Sue Pearl. His father had migrated to New Zealand from China in the late 30s and ran a fruit shop with Barry’s grandfather. He brought his wife and an infant Barry over from Hong Kong in the 1950s. They rejected Sue out of fear Read more
Some mainstream New Zealand churches are struggling to keep their heads above the communion wine but other religions are thriving, building new churches, mosques and temples and gathering devoted worshippers in their thousands. Banks of lights pulsate in waves of colour, and cameras project images on to three monstrous screens. And there is plenty of Read more
The Marriage Amendment Bill aims to amend marriage legislation to ensure gay couples are not treated in “a discriminatory manner”. It has passed its first reading and is now open for submissions from the public. In our next piece in a series of opinions, Wairarapa man and future Labour political hopeful Kieran McAnulty says marriage Read more
While Team Great Britain’s (and New Zealand’s) crews rowed to four gold medals at the London Olympics, a Catholic priest, who is a chaplain offering pastoral support to visitors to the Games, meditated on the parallels between the Olympic sport and the life of a Christian. “Rowing is the perfect metaphor for life,” says Father Read more
When our pilgrim group of Sydney teachers was sitting in the ancient amphitheatre at Ephesus, another group of Australians started to sing Advance Australia Fair for the tourists from many nations. They were pleasantly surprised when our group joined them. Mostly young, they were on their way to Gallipoli, with many New Zealanders. Officials estimated Read more
Prime Minister John Key has announced the rolling out of what he termed “tough new measures to deter potential mass arrivals of illegal immigrants and people smuggling to New Zealand.” Did the visit of the US Secretary for Homeland Security (1-3 May) have anything to do with this hasty amendment to the 2009 Immigration Law? Read more
Last week the Australian Catholic Media Congress took place in Sydney. Monsignor Paul Tighe, a media adviser from the Vatican, told the assembly that new media technologies “enable the forming of community, they have extraordinary potential for the wellbeing of the church”. In his CathBlog Michael Visontay points out that over 150 years ago, under Read more
There were 20,231 marriages registered to New Zealand residents in 2011. This is the lowest number of marriages since 2001 when 19,972 weddings were celebrated. The number of divorces also dropped, down from 8,874 in 2010 to 8,551 in 2011. “The decrease in divorces in 2011 is consistent with the recent trend of declining divorce Read more