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 November 2020 Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian, who used his computer programming skills to spread devotion to the Eucharist, was beatified last month. In a service on Saturday October 10, in the Italian town of Assisi, Carlo Acutis became the youngest contemporary person to be beatified. Acutis, dubbed ‘the cyber apostle of the Eucharist’, […]
WelCom November 2020 Pope Francis expresses support for the creation of civil union laws for same-sex couples in a new documentary about his seven-year papacy. In the film, Francesco, he says: ‘Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should […]
WelCom November 2020 Commenting on the Pope’s remarks about same-sex civil unions, reported in the film Francesco, Bishop Patrick Dunn, Bishop of Auckland and President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said in a statement on October 24, 2020, ‘I endorse the reported comments of Pope Francis. I know he is anxious for LGBTQ […]
WelCom November 2020 New data released by the Vatican shows the number of Catholics is on the rise worldwide. The global Catholic population grew 16 million to 1.33 billion in the past year, according to figures released by the Vatican. The percentage of Catholics in the world remained at 17.73 per cent, indicating the increasing […]
WelCom November 2020 The first Russian-born Catholic bishop since the start of the Soviet era says he prefers to speak of challenges facing the minority Catholic Church rather than problems. ‘Being a relatively small community, the Catholic Church in Russia is challenged with making a positive, constructive contribution as an integral part of society,’ says […]
WelCom November 2020 Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has written to Pope Francis to ask for an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the oppression of indigenous people in the Spanish conquest 500 years ago. The request was made in a two-page letter that also asked the Vatican to temporarily return several ancient […]
WelCom November 2020 Catholic leaders in India are protesting the arrest of 83-year-old Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy on charges of collaboration with Marxist militants. Swamy is a noted human-rights activist who has long spoken out against the mistreatment of India’s Tribal community in Jharkhand state. Swamy has been accused by the government of having ties […]
WelCom November 2020 Pope Francis received Cardinal George Pell in an audience on Monday October 12, 2020 and in greeting him also thanked him for his witness. The 79-year-old Australian cardinal, prefect emeritus of the Secretariat for the Economy, holding the position from 2014 to 2019, returned to Rome in September this year. He had […]
WelCom November 2020 Matthew Balm has been appointed as the Safeguarding Officer for the Diocese of Palmerston North. Matthew says his focus will be to establish and build relationships that nurture the growth of the culture of safeguarding within the diocese and that his wish is ‘to connect with everyone to help them to understand […]
WelCom November 2020 Two Vincentians are among those recognised for outstanding community service in the 2020 New Plymouth District Council’s Citizens Awards, celebrated at a ceremony in New Plymouth on October 8, 2020. Mavis Bridgeman is a member of the St Joseph’s Conference in New Plymouth and Kaddy Smale is a long-time supporter of the […]