One of Cyclone Gabrielle’s many casualties was a beautiful little Catholic chapel on the north side of Wairoa’s town bridge. Like many places in Wairoa’s North Clyde area, St Therese’s was swamped. Silt got into everything and did its worst. The same happened at the marae next door – and to numerous homes and properties. Read more
March 7 was Census day in Aotearoa, our five-yearly opportunity to (according to the 2023 census website) “represent ourselves, our families, whānau, communities, and cultures.” I’m reminded of the Bible censuses, especially the one early in Luke providing the reason that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem. In recent years our NZ national census Read more
When Pope Francis was elected 10 years ago, I was sitting in front of a BBC camera preparing to be interviewed and uttered a word I cannot print in my column. Luckily, my mic had not been turned on. All I knew about Jorge Bergoglio was that my friends in Latin America, liberation theologians and Read more
The Church’s largest ever study of Catholic women has found they are hungry for reform. Women resent their lack of decision-making power and want to follow their consciences on sex and contraception. They think the Church should be more inclusive of the diverse and the divorced. Women also want to be allowed to preach, they Read more
On Wednesday, a group of New Zealand Catholic women called ‘Be the Change’ participated in another Pink Shoes into the Vatican event. Held on International Women’s Day, the event at Auckland’s St Patrick’s Cathedral plaza included a display of well-worn pink shoes. The event was timed to coincide with midday Mass. ‘Be the Change’ invited Read more
In January, America published an article I wrote on the theme of inclusion in the life of the church. Since that time, the positions I presented have received both substantial support and significant opposition. The majority of those criticizing my article focused on its treatment of the exclusion of those who are divorced and remarried Read more
The Eucharist should be the centre of Catholic life, but falling church attendance on Sundays shows that the centre is crumbling. This, along with declining belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, has caused great concern among Catholic bishops, who have launched a Eucharistic revival effort. During the first half of the Read more
The Wellington City Council is rethinking its policy after being slammed as “complicit in genocide denial”. The accusation against the Council followed its decision to grant police the power to arrest Anzac Day protesters. The issue came to light on Anzac Day last year. Richard Noble arrived at a service at Wellington’s Pukeahu War Memorial Read more
The pope’s key clergy abuse reform effort is not working, says a papal consultant. Jesuit Fr Hans Zollner made the admission last Thursday to a group of clergy survivors of sexual abuse. Speaking in an online session, Zollner was asked if there is recourse for those who feel their cases have not been properly handled. Read more
“There is nothing new under the sun.” That Scripture verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:19) comes to mind as I reflect on the agitation expressed by some in the church and the media over the Holy Father’s motu proprio “Traditionis Custodes” and the recent confirmation given in the “Rescriptum ex Audientia”released by Cardinal Arthur Read more