He said Māori chiefs were encouraged to declare independence by the British Resident from 1833, James Busby, who drew from new understandings of sovereignty, and the rights and obligations of citizens, outlined in Emmerich de Vattel’s work The Law of Nations. This explained that a nation might seek the protection of a more powerful State without loss of sovereignty.
The church response to the bushfires calls to mind the 50th anniversary in January of the announcement of Vatican II which asked the church to realise its presence in the world. This was a life-changing moment for the church in Pope John XXIII’s wish to throw open the windows and let the outside world in.
God of creation, bring comfort and reassurance to those who must now rebuild their lives, and welcome into your eternal embrace the victims of this horrific tragedy.
Referring to the parable of the servant who does not forgive his underlings in the manner in which he has been forgiven (Mt 18:23-35), Dr Reid suggests that to refuse to forgive another (the rats in life) ‘is like eating rat poison and expecting the rat to die’.
‘It was then that I really started to learn more about my faith. ‘We learn so much at school and that’s absolutely fine but we see it and understand it through a child’s eyes.’
The official structures of the Catholic Church encourage consultation but are opposed to the actual participation of church members in decision-making. This is a problem for pastoral planners who work on the principle of collaboration in decision-making’the baptismal principle that those affected by a decision need to be involved in making the decision.
Often the criticism was aimed at parishes for not drawing young people into the church but Mrs Dickinson said the schools must take some responsibility.
It is not surprising that the stances the anonymous author took differed not only from those promoted by Paul in his undisputed letter but also from those advanced by other Pauline Christians.