Te Puea Memorial Marae chairman Hurimoana Dennis has named the South Auckland lenders and retail outlets whom he says are most commonly owed money by homeless families coming to the marae for help.

They include KiwiOwn, Cash Converters, UBuy, Red Rat Clothing, G-Mana/Kiwi Auto Finance, Fair Value and Lelei Finance.

The businesses have denied any wrongdoing, saying they lend and sell responsibly.

But Dennis said debt was a problem with each of the 30 homeless families that Te Puea had helped over the past year.

New measures to control businesses offering loans have been recommended by Commerce Minister Kris Fa'afoi, in an MBIE discussion paper reviewing the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.

The recommendations include increased licensing for money lenders, and introducing "more prescriptive" requirements for affordability assessments.

Fa'afoi said it was becoming clear the 2015 amendments to consumer finance laws didn't go far enough, and it was now time to "finish the job" to protect the most vulnerable.

He said ethical lenders and agencies such as the Salvation Army tried to help people, (but) the laws needed to have the right settings to stop people getting into terrible situations in the first place.

"Ensuring the credit settings are right, so that people can borrow appropriately when they need to but are not dragged into a long-term debt spiral is another way we will ensure all New Zealanders benefit in a strong and inclusive economy."

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

Speaking to bishops, cardinals and pastoral care workers, Thursday, at the International Pastoral Congress, on the World's Big Cities, Pope Francis urged them to be creative in order that everyone in these cities can feel the closeness and mercy of God.

He told the Barcelona meeting that the Church needs new maps to help us reposition our thoughts and attitudes.

However, Francis warned, it is important "we must not be disoriented."

"(Disorientation) would lead us to take the wrong road", confusing the people who are looking for life, truth and a sense of purpose, the pope told the Big City Pastoral Congress.

Building on his experience as Bishop of Buenos Aires, with a population of 13 million, Francis highlighted four challenges facing Big City mission as:

• making a change in our pastoral mentality
• dialogue with multiculturalism
• religiousness of people, and
• the urban poor.

"Today we are not the only ones that produce culture, we are not the first nor most listened to", he told the pastoral congress.

Francis told the participants the Church needs to transform itself in order to evangelise in the big cities.

"It's all about going out and meeting God who lives in cities with the poor. Meeting, listening to, blessing, walking with the people; facilitating the encounter with the Lord".

Asking for a concrete witness of mercy and tenderness, Francis said we can go where culture is born and sow the mustard seed in the heart of new cultures generated by urban reality.

In concluding, he proposed a two-fold pastoral nuclei

• Go out and facilitate, and
• The Samaritan Church. To be there.

"God lives in cities. We must go and look for him and remain where He is operating" ... We must not ignore or despise experiences of God that may be dispersed or mixed up: these experiences ask to be "revealed and not constructed", Pope Francis said.

Source

• News.va