June 2016 Youth, Schools, Education Chris Theobald The five Catholic schools in and around Porirua came together to celebrate Catholic Schools Day on 16 May. Bishop Viard College hosted St Francis Xavier (Tawa), St Pius X (Titahi Bay), Holy Family (Porirua East) and St Teresa’s School (Plimmerton) for a day of prayer and activities. The […]
June 2016 In a his new document, Amoris Laetitia – The Joy of Love, Pope Francis calls for renewed efforts to strengthen marriages, while being compassionate and close to people in their frailty. The 264-page document with 325 paragraphs draws together three years of consultation with Catholics around the world, including synods in 2014 and […]
June 2016 Reflections Br Kieran Fenn begins a three-part series begun a series on Mary in Culture as a contemporary form of Scriptural analysis, which applied to Mary, produces some very important results. Mary’s Social Setting Introduction I recently had a letter asking me about the relationship of Jesus and Mary within the socio-historical setting […]
June 2016 News John Kleinsman It is approximately one year since Lecretia Seales took her case for euthanasia and assisted suicide to the High Court in Wellington. Looking back, one of the benefits of this case is that it has clarified the current long-standing laws against assisting suicide and against homicide that apply unambiguously to […]
June 2016 Diocesan News There has been much activity over recent years within the Archdiocese of Wellington around ‘reimagining’, culminating in a series of merged parishes. The Catholic Centre on Hill St has been undergoing its own ‘reimagining’ process resulting this year in several changes to its operational approach and structures. Pastoral Services, which […]
May 2016 Noeline McSweeney The Kimi Ora Faith and Light Community is a strong movement within the parish in New Plymouth, working with disabled children. It began 14 years ago and every month 24 members meet together with their families and friends for a time of prayer, music, praise, fellowship and fun. In answer to […]
May 2016 Jo Woods Over 40 parishioners, and a dog, joined Msgr Gerard in Buckle St – the area of Wellington Mother Aubert put down roots in the city. The group began a 6km walk from the site of the first New Zealand children’s crèche established by Suzanne Aubert in 1914, and near the first […]
May 2016 Pope Francis’ document on marriage and the family follows the two gatherings of bishops and lay persons and consultation with Catholics worldwide to discuss challenges facing families. Amoris Laetitia – the Joy of Love, signals the Pope’s vision for the Church as a family of families. It reaffirms the welfare of the family […]
May 2016 Former Prime Minister Helen Clark says New Zealand can provide a model of religious diversity for the rest of the world. Miss Clark, who heads the United Nations Development Programme, said this at the opening of the new Religious Diversity Centre in Wellington on Wednesday 30 March, while home briefly in New Zealand. […]
May 2016 Reflections Fr James Lyons Pentecost Sunday, which marks the end of the Easter season, celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Pentecost 2016 falls 50 days after Easter 2016, and ten days after the Ascension of Our Lord. What happens to the gifts we give, or are given? Some appear very quickly […]