A reminder has been given regarding the rules concerning Catholic schools sending out material related to politics. This was sparked after a principal from a central North Island Catholic school sent parents a link to information from Family First about the upcoming End of Life Choice Act and Cannabis legalisation referenda. After widespread media coverage Read more
New Zealand
Fund will allow Hato Paora to improve living environment
Monday, October 12th, 2020
Hato Pāori College timuaki, principal, Nathan Matthews said he was pleased with the announcement of a new $20 million fund for Māori boarding schools. “The ability to upgrade our facilities is timely. Our preference would be to put it into pastoral care, because [students] spend 17 hours in the living environment and only seven hours Read more
Well-being of young: a silent pandemic of psychological distress
Monday, October 12th, 2020
Mental health conditions amongst New Zealand youth have doubled in the past decade. Mental health experts are describing it as “a silent pandemic of psychological distress.” Last month Koi Tū, a think tank and research centre at the University of Auckland, published a commentary Youth Mental Health in Aotearoa New Zealand: Greater Urgency Required. Sir Read more
St Patrick’s School Taupō raises $2400 for homeless
Monday, October 12th, 2020Taupo’s St Patrick’s Catholic School Year 7 and 8 students stayed in cardboard boxes last Thursday night and fasted on Friday. Sponsored by friends and family, the students raised $2400 to go towards backpack bedrolls and sleeping bags and washing facilities for the homeless, and also for foodbanks in Taupō and Tūrangi. Read more
Award for caring for vulnerable youngsters.
Monday, October 12th, 2020Mavis Bridgeman was among 11 people who received New Plymouth Citizen’s Awards. She has cared for more than 250 foster children and still has one boy spending a week with her each month. Bridgeman has also supported Faith and Light, a faith-based group supporting those with intellectual disabilities, the Taranaki Disabilities Information Trust, the Open Read more
Fratelli Tutti: a call to see everyone as brothers and sisters
Thursday, October 8th, 2020
Pope Francis’s new encyclical Fratelli Tutti is a call for everyone to see the world as being without borders and view everyone as their brothers and sisters, says Catholic Archbishop of Wellington Cardinal John Dew. “Fratelli tutti is a profound document,” says Dew, vice-president of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference. “It can change minds and Read more
DHB rejects call for Christian Chapel
Thursday, October 8th, 2020
A Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Richard Dawson, is disappointed that the Southern District Health Board has rejected a call for a separate Christian chapel to be included in the new Dunedin Hospital. Dawson was one of the 52 people who signed a letter seeking assurance from the board that a Christian chapel and an office Read more
Judith Collins adds to euthanasia referendum confusion
Thursday, October 8th, 2020
Concern is mounting that people voting in the euthanasia referendum may not realise what they are voting for. In an interview on Magic Talk on Monday National Party Leader, Judith Collins, seemed to blur the line between managing pain and a deliberate choice for a person to end their life. Asked how she reconciled her Read more
Wellington City Mission receives $10 million for new building
Thursday, October 8th, 2020Wellington City Mission’s future community hub has received $10 million from the Government. The new building will have a community cafe, a social supermarket and 35 housing units designed to accommodate and care for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Read more
Priest charged with sexual abuse resigns from church duties
Thursday, October 8th, 2020Anglican priest charged in connection with the historical sexual abuse allegations at Dilworth School has resigned from his position at a South Auckland church. Read more