New Zealand is supporting the repair and redevelopment of a site in Vaimoso cemetery, near Apia in Samoa, which will be a national memorial to the influenza epidemic. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced support for the memorial and the refurbishment of the nurses’ training centre to mark the centenary of the arrival of Read more
Recently Te Wānanga o Raukawa opened a building called Te Ara a Tāwhaki. In this building is a central Lecture Theatre called ‘Te Kete Uruuru Rangi.’ It is surrounded by carvings. As part of those carvings, there are sets of ‘pou’ (carved wall features or poles) which express the ancestral links each hapū has. One Read more
A Russian priest is in Dunedin to launch a world record rowing attempt. Fedor Konyukhov aims to become the first person to row the Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn, eventually completing a 27,000-kilometre solo circumnavigation of the world. Continue reading
Some Rātana followers are worried Labour is taking advantage of the church’s political support. “After we’ve aligned to them in their good favour, they then drop us like a hot pancake,” one woman told Newshub. Read more
At 3 pm on December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, all around New Zealand, people in parishes and other holy places take part in the NZ Pro-Life Rosary Crusade. They will be praying will be to defend life, from conception to natural death. On the same day parishes, groups, families and people of Read more
Eight women who have had abortions have asked the prime minister to be cautious about any changes made to the abortion law. They have written Jacinda Ardern an open letter, published on Sunday as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday Star-Times, the Herald on Sunday and in the Dominion Post on Monday. Spokesperson Barbara Hill said that it was time Read more
A Wellington parish priest changed tack on Sunday, joining his congregation in supporting sex abuse survivors, and tied a ribbon to the church fence. The move by the parish priest of St Mary of the Angels, Fr Kevin Conroy SM, came after helpful conversations with Liz Tonks, an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, and Read more
Catherine Fyfe will chair a group of people who will ensure that the Catholic Church provides a co-ordinated and co-operative response to the Historical Abuse in State Care Royal Commission. Fyfe is a layperson with extensive experience in human resource management and organisational development. The New Zealand Catholic bishops and the heads of all religious Read more
A Christchurch retirement facility owned by nuns must pay $140,000 after sacking its general manager and escorting him off the premises without explanation. The Employment Court this month ruled Nazareth Care unjustifiably dismissed Stephen Roach and ordered it to pay him $140,000 compensation. Continue reading
Thomas Watene’s school achievements are so impressive that when St John’s College held its senior prize-giving, a table was set aside just for his awards. The 18-year-old picked up nine accolades in total – including 2018 dux, top Māori scholar, and five subject awards. Continue reading