Cardinal John Dew the Archbishop of Wellington says the All Lives Matter sign was put up on the message board outside St Patrick’s church in Masterton without the knowledge of the parish priest who was away on leave. “As Archbishop for the diocese, I do not support the placement of that sign. It should not Read more
A Catholic church in Masterton has come under fire for displaying the controversial slogan all lives matter on its message board. A Twitter user posted a photo of the slogan on social media, saying it was “pretty disgusting.” “All lives do not matter until black lives matter. All lives do not matter until brown lives Read more
The world is seeing once again the upsurge of a vicious virus that has spread to every corner of the world. This time the virus is that of social, cultural, economic, political, institutional, legal and religious discrimination against people of different skin color, social status and historical origins. Racism is everywhere and people around the Read more
Pope Francis spoke out against the sin of racism in a speech about George Floyd’s death that was broadcast around the world. He said the sin exists among those who say they fight for all human life – yet it doesn’t fit with the belief system that defends human life at all stages. “We cannot Read more
Just over 50 years ago, on April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and across the United States explosive protests broke out all over the country. In stark contrast to today, Robert Kennedy, a Democratic presidential candidate, gave the following speech in Indianapolis. Kennedy’s speech perhaps offers a lesson in leadership and reminds Read more
As President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited a shrine to Saint John Paul II on Tuesday, Archbishop Wilton Gregory rebuked those who organised the visit. Gregory said arranging for Trump to visit the shrine was “baffling and reprehensible.” He is outraged at what he called a politicised photo opportunity. Protesters from a Read more
Self-isolation. Quaratine. Lockdown. The outbreak of COVID-19 and its subsequent dissemination across the globe has left a shock wave of disbelief and confusion in many countries. Accompanying this wave has been a spike in racist terms, memes and news articles targeting Asian communities in North America. Asian Americans report being spit on, yelled at, even Read more
Bishop Brian Tamaki seems to have taken a couple of popularist planks from President Trump’s platform. At Waitangi, last Thursday he railed against immigrants and also suggested: “We should drain the Wellington bureaucratic swamp”. The Destiny Church leader was described in the Waitangi Day service schedule booklet as an ‘Apostle Bishop’. Tamaki had arrived with Read more
A cartoon about the Samoa measles epidemic has led some to ask if much has changed in New Zealand. New Zealand does not have a great track record in its relationship with Samoa: The influenza epidemic killed over 22% of Samoa’s population in 1918, a disease that was introduced to Samoa by sick passengers on board a ship from Read more
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon has criticised a “racist and discriminatory” policy against refugees from Africa and the Middle East, urging the Government to “fix it and make it fair”. The “family link” policy, introduced in 2009, prevents refugees from Africa and the Middle East from resettling in New Zealand unless they have family already Read more