WelCom March 2022 Former Pope Benedict XVI has acknowledged errors in his handling of sexual abuse cases when he was Archbishop of Munich and asked for forgiveness. A letter by Benedict and a three-page legal addendum was issued by the Vatican after a report on abuse in the Munich archdiocese from 1945 to 2019 included […]
WelCom March 2022 Two high ranking churchmen in Germany have expressed support for optional celibacy for priests. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, one of Pope Francis’ most trusted aides, has spoken out in favour of banning mandatory clerical celibacy. He also supports allowing Catholic priests the option of marrying. Four days earlier, Archbishop Heiner Koch […]
WelCom March 2022 Sister Andre Randon, a French nun, celebrated her 118th birthday on February 11, 2022 making her the second-oldest living person in the world and the oldest living person in Europe, according to the Gerontology Research Group. Born Lucile Randon, she converted to Catholicism at 19 years of age. She served young children […]
WelCom March 2022 Papua New Guinea has abolished the death penalty for a second time, saying it is ineffective in deterring crimes. Since its reintroduction in 1991, many have been sentenced to death in the poverty-stricken nation but none have been executed. The authorities have accepted the death penalty is cruel, inhumane and violates people’s […]
WelCom March 2022 Faith, veteran and Afghanistan-Australian community representatives met with federal MPs in Canberra to urge the Morrison Government to do more to provide safety for those fleeing the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. Dr Tim McKenna, advisory group member of the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) said: ‘CAPSA reiterates its call on […]
WelCom February 2022 Pope Francis has expressed his spiritual closeness to the people of Tonga, following the massive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano that unleashed a destructive tsunami last month. “My thoughts go out to the peoples of the Tonga Islands who in recent days were affected by the eruption of an underwater […]
WelCom February 2022 Cardinal Dew has written to priests and lay pastoral leaders of the archdiocese, urging them to think carefully about how they will manage the challenges of parish life at the Red Level of the Covid-19 Protection Framework. Under Red, gatherings of vaccinated people are limited to no more than 100 people. A […]
WelCom February 2022 The scale of reported alleged abuse within the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand has become known for the first time from extensive research – entitled Information Gathering Project – undertaken by the Church at the request of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care. A total of 1680 reports of abuse […]
WelCom February 2022 This month, February 2022, WelCom reaches a major milestone with the publication of its 400th edition, after almost four decades since our diocesan newspaper was launched in September 1984. Creating 400 hundred editions of WelCom is a wonderful effort. The Archdiocese of Wellington and the Diocese of Palmerston North owe an enormous […]
WelCom February 2022 Pope Francis has appointed Bishop of Hamilton Stephen Lowe as the new Catholic Bishop of Auckland. The appointment was announced from Rome in December. Bishop Lowe is the twelfth Bishop of Auckland and replaces the retiring Bishop Pat Dunn, who has served since 1994. The Diocese of Auckland has almost 40 per […]