WelCom is the monthly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Wellington. Print copies of the eight-page newsletter are free and available in parishes, and sent to parishes and schools in PDF form. The archive contains WelCom stories published from 2007 to 2026 (May).
WelCom March 2022 The New Zealand St Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) has swiftly responded to the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga with two 20-foot containers of urgently needed materials. The January eruption destroyed the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic island to the north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa. More than four-fifths of the […]
WelCom March 2022 The Catholic community across the Archdioceses of Wellington, the Diocese of Palmerston North and from around the country has also responded very generously to the Caritas Appeal to help with the volcanic eruption in Tonga on 15 January and its aftermath. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand began receiving funds as it worked with […]
WelCom March 2022 The continuing Covid-19 pandemic made 2021 an extraordinary year which has put greater pressure than ever on struggling families, according to The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2022 report. The report says many whānau are struggling with the rising costs of food, rent and house prices, along with the effects of […]
WelCom March 2022 As many as 21,900 fewer children are living in material hardship, while 66,500 children have been lifted out of poverty since 2018, according to the latest child poverty statistics, released by Stats NZ,24 February 2022. The data was collected up to June 2021 using a sample of 16,000 households. ‘Despite Covid-19 causing […]
WelCom March 2022 Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has urged Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee to listen to the most-affected communities to tackle ongoing crises in housing, climate change and accelerating inequality that worsen outcomes for the poor. In its submission on the Budget Policy Statement, Caritas said inequality had increased under the Covid-19 crisis, and […]
WelCom March 2022 The government is proposing legislation to amalgamate the water services of 67 councils into four regional water entities. Jim McAloon, chair of the Wellington Archdiocesan Commission for Ecology, Justice and Peace, considers the controversial ‘Three Waters’ legislation in the light of Catholic social justice principles. The government’s Three Waters proposals are intended […]
WelCom March 2022 Brother Stuart Cuttance, formerly known as Brother John, was a pioneering winemaker at Mission Wines, bringing French winemaking techniques to an unsophisticated local industry. Winemaking was however only one chapter in his rich and varied life of service as a Marist Religious. By Michael Fitzsimons He was known as Brother John when […]
WelCom March 2022 James Martin sj Everyone is sick of the pandemic and tired of hearing about Covid. When I turn on the radio in the morning to National Public Radio (which I now think of as National Pandemic Radio), the first word that I hear is always ‘Covid’, ‘coronavirus’ or ‘pandemic’. It is hard […]
WelCom March 2022 On Friday 25 February, Pope Francis made a rare breach of protocol by leaving the Vatican and visiting the Russian Embassy to the Holy See located on the Via della Conciliazione, the main street leading up to St Peter’s Square. He spent around half an hour in conversation with Russian Ambassador to […]
WelCom March 2022 An international Catholic congress this month shines a light on the relevance of Women Doctors of the Church in today’s world. The congress scheduled for 7–9 March, coinciding with International Women’s Day 8 March, is titled ‘Female Doctors of the Church and Patron Saints of Europe in Dialogue with Todays’ World’. Therese […]