WelCom August 2021 Jenny Gordon, a passionate advocate for Catholic education, has resigned from her position as Vicar for Education in the Archdiocese of Wellington. Having served in the role for 15 years she will remain involved in Catholic education at a national level in her role as a Board member of New Zealand Catholic […]
WelCom August 2021 In recent years in the preparation for, during and after our Archdiocesan Synods I have heard comments such as: ‘it is all just a talk-fest’; ‘Nothing changes, it is all the same’; or ‘Synods don’t actually do anything’. They are disappointing comments to hear. I believe Synods have really helped our diocese […]
WelCom August 2021 In May this year, Pope Francis announced the establishment of the new lay ministry of Catechist, intended ‘to respond to an urgent need for the evangelisation of the modern world, and undertaken in a ‘secular’ manner, avoiding clericalisation’. Bishop of Hamilton Stephen Lowe, Secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC), […]
WelCom August 2021 A magnificent tribute to faith This year, the Assumption of Mary is being rededicated as the patron of the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand. Formally declared a dogma of the Church in 1850, the Assumption was the cornerstone chosen by our first bishop, Baptiste Pompallier, to protect, strengthen and guide the new […]
WelCom August 2021 This month the WelCom’s Hīkoi of Faith visits Our Lady of Kāpiti Parish and School – Te Whaea Tapu o Kāpiti. The parish area includes Paekakariki, Raumati, Paraparaumu, Otorohanga, Waikanae, Peka Peka and Te Horo. The parish is a combination of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Waikanae and St Patrick’s Parish and […]
WelCom August 2021 James B Lyons As former director of the New Zealand Bishops’ media office, Catholic Communications, I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Philip Sherry, who passed away at the age of 87 on Sunday 18 July, following a short illness. A highly professional broadcaster and greatly respected television newsreader, […]
WelCom August 2021 Pope Francis has made the most extensive revisions to the Church’s Code of Canon Law in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who sexually abuse minors and vulnerable adults. The Apostolic Constitution ‘Pascite Gregem Dei’, with which Pope Francis reforms Book VI of the Code of Canon Law on […]
WelCom August 2021 ‘Canon Law’ is the legal system of the Catholic Church and includes law for church order, discipline, structures, rules and procedures for the highly organised community that is the Catholic Church. The central core of canon law in the Catholic Church is ‘The Code of Canon Law’, last promulgated in 1983, although […]
WelCom August 2021 A Culture of Encounter: BE the Church Social Justice Week, 12–18 September, 2021 Roger Ellis In the midst of this time of change and uncertainty, it can be tempting to retreat into what we know best. But as Pope Francis reminds us, ‘isolation and withdrawal into one’s own interests are never the […]
WelCom August 2021 New Zealand’s laws against hateful communications must adequately protect the most vulnerable, says the Wellington Archdiocesan Ecology, Justice and Peace (EJP) Commission. The Ministry of Justice is currently seeking feedback on proposals to alter provisions in the Human Rights Act on incitement to hatred. The consultation process recognises the balance that needs […]