WelCom October 2021 The debate about denying Communion to politicians who support abortion must be handled in a pastoral way, not by public condemnations that seek to ‘excommunicate’ Catholics who are not in line with church teaching, Pope Francis has said. During his return flight from Slovakia in September, the Pope said that while there […]
WelCom October 2021 Older people are not ‘leftovers’ to be discarded, Pope Francis said in the homily he wrote for the Mass marking the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. ‘Let us ask ourselves, “Have I visited my grandparents, my elderly relatives, the older people in my neighbourhood? Have I listened to them? […]
WelCom October 2021 Four Missionaries of Charity nuns and two Indian Jesuit priests stranded in trouble-torn Afghanistan after the Taliban took control have been moved to safety. ‘Our four nuns have been shifted out of Afghanistan and are safe,’ said Sr Christy, based in Kolkata, the headquarters of the congregation. Two Indian Jesuit have returned […]
WelCom October 2021 Six nuns from the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family of Mary congregation in Curitiba, Brazil, died in less than a week, five of them from Covid-19. Other nuns at the convent also came down with the illness and some were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Sr […]
WelCom October 2021 Canada’s Catholic bishops have expressed their ‘profound remorse’ for the treatment of Canada’s indigenous population at the network of resident schools the Church ran across the country. Their move came months after the discovery of more than 1000 unmarked graces at the sites of three schools the Church operated as part of […]
WelCom October 2021 Jesuit Fr Frank Brennan, an Australian writer and legal scholar, says he believes the proceedings against Cardinal Pell were the result of a political vendetta against the prelate. According to Fr Brennan, Victoria’s policing and criminal justice systems erred so seriously in relation to Cardinal George Pell that it shows not even […]
WelCom October 2021 Pope Francis sent 15,000 ice-creams to prisoners to help them cool down during what has been one of the hottest summers on record in Italy. The ice-creams were delivered to Rome’s two prisons. The Vatican said the donation was among one of several ‘small evangelical gestures’ made during the [European] summer ‘to […]
WelCom October 2021 On 8 December 2020, Pope Francis published his Apostolic Letter, ‘Patris corde’ – ‘With a Father’s Heart’. Francis’ letter fittingly commemorated the declaration of the 150th anniversary of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. On 8 December 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX, a great devotee of St Joseph, made this […]
WelCom October 2021 A generous initiative from a Hutt Valley Real Estate agent is the latest idea for helping the restoration of Sacred Heart Cathedral. Te Awakairangi parishioner, Anna Geremia-Young, of Tall Poppy Real Estate, Lower Hutt, will donate $400 for every parishioner who sells through her. Anna is very active in the community, having […]
WelCom October 2021 The Catholic community in the centre of Wellington underwent a significant change on Sunday 1 August 2021. The former parish of St Joseph’s in Mt Victoria officially ceased to be part of the Catholic Parish of Wellington South to become part of the Wellington Central Parish of St Mary of the Angels. […]