“Who are you? Just because you are a nun? You go back to your country and try to ponder the enormity of your problems,” said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. His words were directed at an Australian nun, Sister Patricia Fox, who was detained by immigration authorities last week. “You nun, why don’t you criticise your own government, the Read more
Denis O’Reilly, a Pākehā now well into his 60s, linked up with Black Power because he was committed to social justice. It was the same concern for social justice that had his brother, Laurie, who died nearly 20 years ago, becoming a lawyer and then the Commissioner for Children. Each of the boys had many other Read more
Housing New Zealand (HNZ) has resource consent to build houses in Naenae on a site that was the scene of a church-based protest. Construction is expected to begin shortly, with the first homes finished by mid-2018. In April, members of St David’s Anglican Church in Naenae camped out for the weekend on land across the Read more
Representatives from Caritas agencies in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga attended a forum in Cairns last week. Also present were representatives from countries not yet members of the Caritas network, reflecting the forum theme of ‘Our Family, Our Future’ and strengthening ties with French- and English-speaking peers. Forum delegates were Read more
The Prime Minister, Saturday, said changing vulnerable young people’s lives was more difficult than changing the economy. But, they can change. He made the comments when opening Marist Challenge House in Johnsonville, Wellington. “The challenge of changing things in government, in agencies and the economy is relatively easy when compared to the challenges some of Read more
This year the St Vincent de Paul Society celebrates 150 years since it was first established in New Zealand. Anniversary celebrations are planned for the weekend of October 13-15 in Christchurch. On Sunday October 15, an Anniversary Mass will be celebrated by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Martin Krebs as well as Bishops Owen Dolan and Charles Read more
“They only want you to be the one thing,” Mick Jagger once told the novelist William Gibson. He was referring to his own acting career. It is odd to imagine a celebrity icon millionaire presumably so close to the heart of rock and roll speaking so wistfully of thwarted ambition, as if he once had Read more
Charity is about being good-hearted, but justice is about something more. Individual sympathy is good and virtuous, but it doesn’t necessarily change the social, economic, and political structures that unfairly victimize some people and unduly privilege others. We need to be fair and good of heart, but we also need to have fair and good Read more
Jim Bolger, former New Zealand Prime Minister, says his faith helped him negotiate his way through the turbulent waters of the 1990s. Bolger was interviewed by Guyon Espiner as part of the RNZ series The Ninth Floor in which Espiner conducts extended interviews with former New Zealand Prime Ministers. “That was the value system that I grew Read more