The new translation of the Mass is now up and running, and, in his parish, its launch seems to have passed off without any awkwardness at all according to Dr William Oddie. He wonders how many priests said for the first time that the people’s response in that opening exchange between priest and congregation does not mean “and the Read more
The Reverend Mike Ryan, the first ordained permanent deacon of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, died in Rotorua last Tuesday. “I lost a very dear friend this week. We had known each other for only a few years but we got together regularly to talk about life and faith and all sorts of other Read more
Humour is one of the most effective ways to communicate profound truths about life. The cartoon The Simpsons perfectly proves the point. This longest-running cartoon series on American prime-time network television since 1989 recounts the animated adventures of Homer Simpson and his lower-middle class family who live in the city of Springfield. The father, Homer, Read more
While studies have long shown the negative effects on children of divorce compared to those from two-parent households, a new study has determined that children born to to cohabiting couples fare even worse than children from divorced families. Despite a drop in the divorce rate, “family instability continues to increase for the nation’s children overall, Read more
It takes political courage to contradict the prevailing nostrums of the day, and National’s deputy prime minister and Finance Minister, Bill English, is to be commended for doing just this. Opening a Families Commission’s 50 Key Thinkers forum in May, Mr English referred to prisons as a moral and fiscal failure. In so doing he Read more
The laws regarding “keeping the Sabbath day holy” were intended to give workers a day off so that they could do what they wanted to do rather than what some one else, their bosses, wanted them to do. But there is a perverse human instinct to turn freedom into bondage. Thus down through the ages Read more
It is now thirty years since revelations of sexual abuse of minors by priests first began to appear. How far have we progressed in the task of eradicating this cancer? What lessons have we learned? “For whatever mere words are worth, apologies have been made. Processes have been established that have enabled many people to Read more
There are those that say the social media will break down barriers and bring people together but research reveals racism in comments made online. Analysis of more than 1,000 online responses to videos featuring infamous New Zealand race furores involving Paul Henry and Hone Harawira are “disturbing” and illustrative of a “dark underbelly” in New Zealand Read more
The death of Corporal Doug Grant has re-ignited discussion about New Zealand’s involvement in the war in Afganistan. How long should NZ troops stay? Should SAS decide that for themselves? Perhaps they are the best judges of the situation. Peace Movement Aotearoa have put a question on the their Facebook page and they are inviting comment: “Speaking of democacry, Read more
Is religion necessary for morality? Many believers would say yes. Ricky Gervais is working on a new show,”Afterlife”, about an atheist who died and went to heaven – the point being made that believers don’t have the monopoly on morality. “All too often religious people equate faith with moral behavior”, says Pamela Taylor. “As a Muslim, I Read more