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 April 2020: New Zealand entered Alert Level 4 for Covid-19 on Thursday, 26 March 2020, in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Cardinal John has been issuing regular updates to Wellington and Palmerston North dioceses about related Government instructions, church announcements, and Sacramental and pastoral restrictions. All Masses, liturgies and church gatherings […]
WelCom April 2020: On 11 March, 2020, Pope Francis visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, outside of Rome. While there the Holy Father entrusted Rome and all Italy to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s help and protection. He did this of course as the coronavirus pandemic gathered pace in Italy. Various Popes had prayed […]
WelCom April 2020: Thomas O’Loughlin is Professor of Historical Theology, University of Nottingham, UK, a priest of the Archdiocese of Arundel and Brighton on England’s south coast, and a contributing writer for WelCom. He shares his observations from the UK about our faith response amidst the increasing Covid-19 restrictions. ‘Let’s discover what it means to be […]
WelCom April 2020: Lisa Beech The Archdiocese of Wellington and Society of St Vincent de Paul are supporting parishes in continuing to ‘go forth’ safely to our communities, within the strict Alert Level 4 lockdown and distancing required by the Covid-19 response. As Cardinal John Dew said in his letter to parishes, 26 March, ‘We know […]
WelCom April 2020: New church and parish centre created Ngā mihi nui ki te Pāriha o tō tātou Kahurangi o Kāpiti Kua hangaia tētehi whare karakia me tētehi Huimanga Pāriha hōu When Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, called for our parishes to ‘build a future full of hope that builds on the past’, Our […]
WelCom April 2020: Bishop Michael Gielen was ordained by Bishop Pat Dunn, Bishop of Auckland, on March 7 in a joyous, uplifting, multicultural ceremony. The Vodafone Events Centre in Wiri, Auckland, was used, rather than St Patrick’s Cathedral, because a huge congregation wanted to attend the ceremony and celebrations. ‘The joy and excitement was palpable’, […]
WelCom April 2020: A King’s Call to Prayer Anzac Day 25 April 2020 Brian Fennessy Two recently produced war-drama movies, Darkest Hour and Dunkirk, both released in 2017, were able to re-ignite peoples’ awareness of the desperate situation that Britain and her allies, including New Zealand, faced during 1940 in World War II. The two […]
WelCom April 2020: New Zealand’s Parliament has passed a bill decriminalising abortion and allowing women to choose a termination up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy. The Abortion Legislation Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament, meaning the procedure will now be removed from the Crimes Act. The final bill passed on Wednesday evening, […]
WelCom April 2020: The New Zealand Catholic Bishops are deeply disappointed the New Zealand Parliament passed the Abortion Legislation Bill by a margin of 68 to 51, Wednesday, 18 March 2020. ‘This Bill ignores the fact there are at least two human lives involved in every pregnancy,’ said a spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops Conference, […]
WelCom April 2020: 2020 Election Year: Catholic Education Comment Paul Ferris, Chief Executive, New Zealand Catholic Education Office Integration was introduced in 1975 and while the legislation describes a binding agreement between the State and the Church it seems that the memory of many involved in education needs to be continually refreshed so that the […]