WelCom August 2022 The Catholic bishops have asked the New Zealand Government to take the lead in organising a forum of world leaders to bring peace to Israel and Palestine. In a letter calling for action to end Palestinian suffering, the bishops say: ‘Our Government should consider using its good international standing to call for […]
WelCom August 2022 About 80 representatives from the country’s six Catholic dioceses and other entities met for a national hui in Wellington in July as part of the Pope’s Synodal path to the Church’s future. Representatives of dioceses, parishes, schools, priests and religious orders, as well as ecumenical and interfaith attendees, were at the hui […]
WelCom August 2022 Priests celebrating Mass should not be rigidly austere, mystical, overly slow, and excessively finicky, Pope Francis says in a new letter promoting the ‘rediscovery’ of the Eucharistic liturgy. Neither should priests be exasperatingly creative, merely functional, rushed, sloppy, careless or superabundantly friendly. Pope Francis published a new apostolic letter on the liturgy […]
WelCom August 2022 Michael Fitzsimons An ambitious modernisation and seismic resilience programme is set to radically transform the St Patrick’s College Kilbirnie campus. This is the first significant upgrade of facilities since the college was moved to Kilbirnie more than 40 years ago. Seismic strengthening and asbestos removal has been carried out in recent years […]
WelCom August 2022 Cardinal John Dew will be travelling to Rome at the end of this month, as Pope Francis has summoned all the cardinals to attend a Consistory in which 21 new cardinals will be created. After the Consistory there will be 132 cardinals, with 62 per cent of them having been appointed by […]
WelCom August 2022 Cardinal John Dew attended the Fifth Plenary Council of the Church in Australia as one of its Observers. The Council was held in July (3–9). A Plenary Council is the highest form of gathering for a local Church to discern what God is asking of Catholics. Cardinal John said the Australian Church […]
WelCom August 2022 Michael Fitzsimons Vinnies hubs and networks around the country are continuing to meet a strong demand for assistance as the rising cost of living impacts on disadvantaged communities. In Auckland, the demand for food parcels in June was around 500 food parcels a week, with peak demand this year reaching 1,200 food […]
WelCom August 2022 The Ministry of Health has six full-time positions dedicated to ‘assisted dying’ but no team dedicated to palliative care. ‘Proponents of the End of Life Choice Act promoted its introduction as being all about choice,’ says Dr John Kleinsman, Director of the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics. ‘But it’s a “Claytons’ choice” if […]
WelCom August 2022 A combination of the usual Term 3 winter illnesses and Covid-19 is likely to put more pressure on your school, kura and community, the Ministry of Education advised the education sector in July. The Ministry said the public health advice clearly shows mask wearing is a strong tool in the defence against […]
WelCom August 2022 In a recent briefing to the Council of Priests, Cardinal John advised of the need to remain cautious during this pandemic. ‘As a recent victim of Covid-19, I am very aware we still need to take precautions to prevent its spread through parish activities. My experience has confirmed the importance of the […]