The olive leaf is a symbol of reconciliation, but a planned building inspired by its shape has divided opinion in the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown. Queenstown architect Fred van Brandenburg first mooted the Olive Leaf – a multi-use parish centre situated beside the heritage-listed St Patrick’s Catholic Church – in 2015. It has the Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Parish’
Catholic parish life has become insufferably middle-class
Thursday, August 10th, 2017
There are plenty of things for which I thank God: good friends, the health of my children, the glorious tenth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. Another is the fact that my wife and I were never made to attend a Catholic marriage preparation course. If we had been members of a parish where the mind-numbingly dull half-year Read more
Can a parish priest make everyone happy in a multicultural parish?
Monday, August 7th, 2017
A wet knot on a pair of sneakers is hard to untie – even harder when they’re on your feet. As the pastor of a multigenerational, multicultural, and multilingual (Spanish, Vietnamese, and English) parish, I at times feel responsible for untying a lot of wet knots. Farm workers from Central Mexico founded the parish where Read more
US bishops told priests don’t like giving marriage advice
Tuesday, June 16th, 2015
American Catholic bishops have been told that many priests admit they don’t feel comfortable giving guidance to couples on marital problems. At their spring assembly, the bishops heard from three married couples speaking about marriage and the family. One of the couples, Ricardo and Lucia Luzondo, raised the issue of seminarian and priest formation. “We Read more
Dublin parishes to discuss family issues ahead of synod
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015
Parishes in Dublin in Ireland are determining for themselves how they discuss family issues ahead the synod in October. The Irish Times reported an invitation by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to priests and parishioners to hold meetings on the subject. In a letter to priests and parishes, Archbishop Martin stated that Pope Francis wants Catholics around the Read more
St Michael’s Remuera plaza project
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
St Michael’s Parish in Remuera, Auckland, is planning to develop its amenities to provide a gathering space and safer traffic movements around the church and the adjacent parish school. The proposed project has three components: An addition to the front of the church with a new ‘gathering space’ The creation of a plaza which would connect Read more
Ten ways to revitalise the Catholic Church
Friday, September 13th, 2013
Reform is afoot in the Vatican. Pope Francis has tightened the reins on the Vatican bank, worked through a gruelling visit to Brazil, named a new secretary of state, and is now busy preparing for the October meeting of cardinals who will advise him on how to breathe new life into the Catholic Church. The Read more
Archdiocese set to merge parishes
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Catholics in the Archdiocese of Wellington diocese were asked, Sunday, to consider merging some parishes. The church held a hui in Porirua on Sunday and plans another in the South Island next weekend to discuss issues such as it having fewer clergy, less money and earthquake-prone buildings that need repair. Archbishop John Dew says some Read more
Man in same-sex marriage wants to keep parish posts
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013An openly homosexual man who was removed from his positions of reader and religious-education instructor in his New York parish after he entered into a same-sex marriage is petitioning to be reinstated. Nicholas Coppola has presented a petition signed by 18,000 people to Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Center diocese. The diocese released a statement Read more
A cherry-picking PP serves 6 Westland parishes
Friday, August 3rd, 2012
South Westland might have some of New Zealand’s most beautiful scenery and one or two mountains to climb, however the territory is rather isolated. There is just one priest for six parishes and since returning to New Zealand Michael Mahoney accepted the challenge to minister to them all! There is also quite a bit of Read more