February 2016 Feature Safeguarding is the name of a programme being developed within the Archdiocese to raise awareness of abuse and ways we, in the Church, can work together to create a safer communities. Maria Noonan, Safe Church Programme Leader for the Catholic Church in New Zealand’s National Office for Professional Standards, and the Community […]
February 2016 Education Tara Quinney, Director of Religious Studies A new building block at St Bernard’s College, Lower Hutt, was blessed and officially opened on 12 November last year by Cardinal John Dew. The opening began with liturgy and waiata in the school gym followed by the blessing and afternoon tea. In recognition of the […]
February 2016 Education Staff and students at St Benedict’s School, Khandallah, watched with pride as Cardinal John Dew opened and blessed their two new ‘Tui Block’ classrooms last December. The new classrooms are a result from a successful roll growth application some years ago and combined hard work of the Archdiocese, St Benedict’s School Board […]
February 2016 Education The Catholic Foundation Committee, chaired by Francis Fanning, congratulates its scholarships recipients for the 2016 tertiary studies year and wishes them well in their chosen courses. The Committee also wishes the applicants who were not successful but were of equally high calibre well in their future studies. Awards were presented at college […]
February 2016 News Last year, the US National Science Foundation, which manages the US Antarctic Programme, ended its support for Catholic priests’ services through New Zealand’s Catholic Diocese of Christchurch’s Antarctic Chaplaincy Programme. This was due to a decline in church-going at US Antarctic stations and it ended to a 57-year relationship between the Diocese […]
February 2016 News Maria Noonan, CSS Community Organiser Last year we witnessed, on our television screens and in other media reports, thousands of refugees from Africa and Syria streaming into Europe. This brought into sharp focus the plight of all refugees, including those already in camps, and many fleeing destruction of their homelands and oppressive […]
February 2016 Education Annette Scullion Paul Ferris QSM has been appointed chief executive of the NZ Catholic Education Office. Starting 1 February 2016, Mr Ferris replaces Sir Br Patrick Lynch KNZM, QSO, who announced his retirement last year. Ferris said following Br Pat Lynch’s 22 years of outstanding leadership would be an exciting challenge and […]
February 2016 News Sharron Cole, QSO, MA, DipEd, DipCBEd, CEO of the Midwifery Council and Chair of the Boards of Parents Centres New Zealand and Rethinking Crime and Punishment, was one of New Zealand’s four representatives at the Synod on the Family in Rome last October. Attending as a Lay Auditor, she was invited to […]
February 2016 Reflection Part four in a series of Fr James Lyons’ writing about grief. ‘Good Grief’, the title of this chapter, is first the title of a book featuring Charles Schultz’s cartoon character, Charlie Brown. Things rarely went right for Charlie; even when they did there was likely to be some unforeseen consequence that […]
February 2016 Reflection Fr James Lyons Joy and gladness fly high on the banner of Christianity but they come at an enormous cost: the passion and death of Jesus of Nazareth. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, the Gospel of John tells us, and the obedience of this Son gave […]