‘Safeguarding’ workshop held
More than 50 participants from the archdiocese were invited to attend a safeguarding formation day in Wellington last month to learn more about safeguarding leadership within Church communities.
Welcom Archive 2007-2026
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).
World Day of Prayer for Vocations
On Good Shepherd Sunday, 30 April 2023, the fourth Sunday of Easter, we are invited to pray for those called to serve through priestly vocation. In the Gospel reading for the day (Jn 10:1-10) Christ is described as the ‘Good Shepherd’ who lays down his life for his sheep. The day also marks the beginning of our National Vocations Awareness Week.
UK asylum policy ‘dramatically lacking’
As the UK government pushes controversial legislation banning the settlement of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is calling on policymakers ‘to recognise migrants and refugees as people’.
Catholic women want reform – global survey
The largest study of Catholic women in the Church’s history has found that the majority of women support significant reform within the Church. The study surveyed 17,200 women from 140 countries.
Famous Spanish choir admits girls for the first time
Women and girls are to be admitted to a choir at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery near Barcelona, home to the famous Escolania all-boys choir, for the first time in its 700-year history.
NZ – middling performer in Mass attendance
The World Values Survey (WVS), which began collecting data in the 1980s, has new data on Mass attendance for 36 countries with large Catholic populations. Which country has the highest Catholic Mass attendance?
German bishops support blessing same-sex unions
Germany’s Catholic bishops and lay representatives have agreed to call for the Church to approve blessings of same-sex unions.
Celibacy ‘could be reviewed’, says Pope
Pope Francis discussed the possibility of revising the Western discipline of priestly celibacy in a wide-ranging interview for his 10th anniversary as Pope last month.
Eternal Word Television Network in the firing line
A new bishop in Spain has banned his local television station from carrying any content produced by the massive EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) religious media conglomerate on grounds of preserving unity with the Pope.
Asteroid named after Pope
Pope Gregory XIII, the 16th century pontiff responsible for what is today known as the Gregorian calendar, now has another celestial claim to fame. A working group of the International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid after him.