Feature March 2014 John O’Neill sm The number of people in the Wellington region who ticked the ‘no religion’ box in the 2013 Census rose by 15 percent in the seven years since the previous census. At the same time the number who said in the census that they were Catholic declined by six percent […]
Palmerston North March 2014 Kathleen Field The Young Catholic Leader programme in the Diocese of Palmerston North continues to grow in popularity and diversity. Begun in the diocese in 2011 with 29 Year 12 students from Catholic colleges, it has grown to 52 young people at last December’s camp, five of whom were from nonCatholic […]
News February 2014 Mary-Ann Greaney Dynamic ministry teams with priests and lay leaders working together could be the result of the archdiocesan restructuring now taking place following extensive parish consultations last year based on the document A Future Full of Hope. When Bishop John Dew was installed as archbishop in 2005 he knew he couldn’t […]
Opinion February 2014 Archbishop John Dew Another year has begun. I hear many people saying that the holiday season has gone too quickly and we are back into the rush, the hustle and bustle and I am no different. It has not taken me long to forget the still moments, the times of peace and […]
Opinion February 2014 Cecily McNeill The genealogy which starts the Gospel of Matthew is important in locating Jesus as descendant of Abraham and the rightful heir to David’s throne, that is, the Messiah. In the same way, our forebears in Aotearoa New Zealand who signed the Treaty of Waitangi are located in a much more […]
Scripture February 2014 Kieran Fenn fms Pope Paul VI said in 1975 that devotion to Mary for many in the church was a problem. Our approach to Mary reflected outdated ideas of the medieval and Counter-Reformation church, which lack appeal for contemporary people. He cited some theology that presents Mary as timidly submissive which, he […]
Catholic Social Services February 2014 Lesley Hooper Welcome to 2014. The new year gives an opportunity to reflect on the past year at Catholic Social Services. As usual 2013 was a busy year as Catholic Social Services worked with the many who have faced crises in their lives. We have been there to support them […]
Feature February 2014 Cecily McNeill Aotearoa New Zealand’s nationhood is marked by Waitangi Day on 6 February when the country commemorates the 1840 signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the Treaty of Waitangi. For many the day is simply a holiday but, for others, This date is a sobering reminder of an agreement two […]
Reflection February 2014 Veronica Lawson RSM Luke 2:22-40 The start of today’s gospel reading has often been misconstrued as the ‘purification’ of Mary. Luke implies that Mary and Joseph come to the temple to be purified, although purification after childbirth applied only to women (Leviticus 12). Vestiges of the Jewish purification ritual survived until recently […]
News February 2014 Bernie Tavite St Michael’s Parish Youth Group in Taita performed an encouraging dance to Kirk Franklin’s ‘Today’ song on Sunday 8 December when MaryAnne Pereira-Misa and Iosia Misa were presented with the Tu Kahikatea Award by Diocesan Youth & Young Adult Ministry Team. The team which includes Br Timothy Leen, Scott Tau, […]