Tēnā koutou katoa
The re-opening of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and St Mary His Mother is a wonderful opportunity for us as an archdiocese to reflect on the nature of our Church.
Some 30 Catholic hospital chaplains from throughout the motu, some full-time but most part-time, gathered at the St Francis Retreat Centre in Hillsborough, Auckland for their first-ever national hui earlier this year.
The Vatican recently published a new document that outlines and affirms Catholic doctrine on the importance of human dignity and its connection to God. The document, entitled Dignitas Infinata (infinite dignity), addresses a range contemporary moral, bio-ethical and social issues, including human rights violations, discrimination against women, abortion and gender theory.
WelCom’s Journey of Faith continues this month to visit the Lower Hutt Parish of the Holy Spirit – Te Wairua Tapu. Formed in 2015, the parish covers four main Lower Hutt suburbs and their constituent areas geographically located across the harbour from Wellington city and surrounded by coastlines and bush tracks.
The coalition government has been passing multiple laws under parliamentary urgency since coming into power late last year. But a lack of public scrutiny and input to processes raises concerns among advocates for society’s vulnerable.
For this year’s Laudato si’ Week and Pentecost, we are invited to gather in community to contemplate and nurture seeds of hope for our ‘suffering planet’ (Laudate Deum 2).
Death happens to us all. It’s a healthy part of being on the planet, says Tony Paine, Chief Executive of Mary Potter Hospice.
The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand, named after the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed on 6 February 1840. It is an agreement entered into by representatives of the Crown and of Māori iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes). The Treaty was not drafted as a constitution or a statute.
Vocation Sunday is a worldwide day of prayer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. It falls on the 4th Sunday of Easter – Good Shepherd Sunday – and a day on which there is a seminary collection. There is usually a message from the Pope for the day. Pope Francis’ 2024 message was released on 19 March. This year’s theme is: ‘Called to sow seeds of hope and to build peace’.
King George V’s comment, as he visited the Commonwealth war cemeteries in Flanders during 1922, is a powerful statement of remembrance and upholding peace:
‘We can truly say that the whole circuit of the earth is girdled with the graves of our dead…and, in the course of my pilgrimage, I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the years to come, than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war.’