Peter Trung Nguyen was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal John Dew at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Palmerston North last Saturday. The event had been postponed from April because of COVID-19 restrictions. And because COVID-19 Alert level remains at 2, numbers were still restricted. Nguyen said that while he was happy to Read more
About 10 am on October 31, Father Freddie Barte was driving home to Waitara, north Taranaki, along State Highway 3A after attending a church service in Inglewood. While driving, he noticed a truck and trailer unit in the opposite lane before seeing the flash of another car heading straight towards him. The other motorist had attempted to overtake the Read more
A Tauranga priest is suing the Catholic Church over claims of racial harassment and exploitation. Father Alex Kapiarumala left India to work as a priest in Bay of Plenty nine years ago. He said he quickly became ostracised by certain colleagues, as well as deceived, exploited and stereotyped for his Indian heritage. Continue reading
A spokesman for a priests’ association in Ireland has warned that bringing overseas priests in to plug vocations gaps could empty Irish churches. Fr Brendan Hoban of the Association of Catholic Priests said that there is a risk that old fashioned pastoral approaches by overseas priests could empty some Irish parishes in a decade. Two Nigerian priests have Read more
A review of a programme to bring overseas priests into an Australian diocese has revealed the priests received inadequate orientation and their parishes were poorly prepared to receive them. The review by a working party in Maitland-Newcastle diocese, north of Sydney, recommended continuing the programme. But it said further invitations to overseas priests should be Read more
Religious workers will be able to become New Zealand residents under a recently announced policy change. Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said until now there was no residence option for religious workers and some communities had struggled to fill positions. “This new policy provides a path to residency for religious workers as well as an updated temporary work Read more