The claim was made by the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference on Facebook.

As their time in Rome was ending, Bishops Laurenson and Adams visited the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.

The Church where the bishops had their photos taken is the one where Bishop Pompallier was ordained Bishop more than 180 years ago.

While Pompallier's link to New Zealand is not disputed, commenter Matthew Blair points out that the lineage link to Pompallier claimed by the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference is incorrect.

In reply to the Conference's claim, Blair acknowledges that Pompallier has a special place in our history but says that according to the Catholic Hierarchy, most, if not all, our current bishops trace their lineage through Cardinal McKeefry to Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney, then via several senior Italian cardinals to Pope Clement XIII.

According to Catholic Hierarchy, Pompallier did not even consecrate New Zealand's second bishop, Philippe Viard.

Archbishop Polding, the Archbishop of Sydney, consecrated Viard. Pompallier only co-consecrated Viard.

According to Catholic Hierarchy, Pompallier was not the principal consecrator of any other bishop.

Sources

• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
• Catholic Hierarchy

The event ran from 15 to 22 September and gathered 267 baby bishops worldwide for training, reflection and dialogue on their roles within the Church.

Building global connections

The Baby Bishops course also offers newly appointed bishops a chance to connect with Church leaders from around the globe. The New Zealand bishops reported they also took the opportunity to meet Australia's newest bishop and the head of Opus Dei.

The week includes joint working sessions, promoting collaboration between bishops from the Dicastery for Evangelisation and the Dicastery for Bishops.

Focussing on key Church issues

The course includes a wide range of topics, from peace and conflict resolution to fostering family life. Dr Linda Ghisoni and Dr Gabriella Gambino, both undersecretaries for the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, spoke about the importance of nurturing marriage within the Church.

They also highlighted the rise of new communities within the faith.

In a session on peace and conflict, Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ led a reflection on Pope Francis' encyclical "Fratelli Tutti," which calls for global unity and the healing of divisions. The bishops were urged to consider their role in contributing to reconciliation and peace within their communities.

Fides reports that topics included -

• The Holy See "in the globalised world"
• The apostolate of the laity
• Living the Episcopal Mission in a Synodal Church

Audience with Pope Francis

As part of the week's activities, bishops attending the Dicastery for Bishops' course met Pope Francis on 19 September, while those from the Dicastery for Evangelisation had an audience on 21 September.

The study seminars, which began in 1994 for bishops in missionary areas, provide new bishops in mission territories with essential insights into their offices through lectures, prayer and dialogue. They also foster collegiality and mutual understanding among bishops from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Sources

• Fides
• NZCBC

Adams had commented earlier in response to a letter to the editor published in the Manawatu Standard by Dr Christopher Longhurst, leader of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Puzzling response

Adams says he remains puzzled by Longhurst's unwillingness to accept and recognise a culture change in the Church he works for.

He acknowledges Longhurst's work in the area of sexual abuse by priests.

"I acknowledge the work of survivors and their advocates has been critical in bringing to light the scourge of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and in our wider society", writes Adams.

"As the Roman Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North, I remain convinced the Church has made significant strides in her efforts over recent times to make the Catholic Church a safe place for children and vulnerable adults, but with no room for complacency or a sense that a job has been completed.

"Our culture has changed, and it must continue to change."

Adams went on to express his trust in the work of police investigators and the Church's National Office for Professional Standards.

Zero appetite

In his letter, Longhurst said that Adams' earlier assurances that there is "Zero appetite for a culture of abuse in the Catholic Church" do not ring true.

He says that Adams' July 30 claim that, if an accusation were made against a Church member, that Church member would be stood down is not true.

Longhurst says he has a complaint against a priest that is under investigation, but that the priest is still in active ministry in the Palmerston North Diocese.

Christopher Longhurst

He says the situation is compounded by the refusal of Adams' professional standards office to allow the investigations into that complaint to proceed.

He also claims that an unnamed priest in an allegation made by Steven Carvell was never stood down when the allegation was made and that, even in retirement, that priest remains in ministry while the Church investigations continue.

Source

• Manawatu Standard

For Kiwis it was a big parish — a Mass count approaching a 1000 people on the weekend. It was a contented parish, well organised, it had some money in the bank, its biggest age cohort was the 60-75yr olds.

A small group of people tended to do the majority of the work, it had a large representative parish council, and an enthusiastic but inexperienced parish priest — me.

After the earthquake

When the earthquake struck, this parish burst into life. Good people started doing good things.

I personally had multiple funerals to attend to.

I had a large team of volunteers bagging emergency food parcels every evening. I had lots of men and their trailers towing barbecues into the worst affected parts of Christchurch to help feed people without electricity.

Our main church collapsed into a pile of bricks, but a little steel-framed box of a church also in the parish became our liturgical home and it hummed with activity.

Masses were full to overflowing. The ongoing aftershocks, the shifting ground and the uncertainty that this brought, led people to return to their faith.

I left that parish seven years later. Interiorly, I was a broken man. You see, over those seven years things had leaked away.

The urgency left us, apathy shifted back in. I didn't receive complaints, I didn't receive suggestions, I didn't receive many requests for anything much at all. We just drifted off to sleep again, happy enough I suppose.

The bishop asked me to take on a smaller semi-rural parish after this, but to be honest I was feeling a bit beaten.

Yes, we are custodians of the greatest love story ever told—but so what?

I started searching around, I wanted an answer to this riddle. It wasn't that I hadn't worked hard, it wasn't that I lacked endeavour. It wasn't because I had a parish full of dull people—no, they were good Catholic people.

I felt a failure as a leader, I questioned my own formation.

I experienced the devastating loneliness of the Sunday after first Holy Communion Sunday. I woke up to the fact that I had sacramentalised hundreds and hundreds of young people, but I had failed to evangelise them and their families.

Parish renewal

So, I arrive in my new parish, and if you are not a parish priest you won't know this, but I went over to the main filing cabinet in the parish office, and when I opened it up, out slid all these clear files with previous parish renewal programmes and restructuring plans. Oh dear.

Then I had a little moment of grace, someone told me about a parish here in Australia that was having a time of renewal.

I found their email on the internet, and wrote to them. Could they spare me 30 minutes on the phone to share a bit of their story with me. Graciously they said yes.

I remember that phone call quite vividly.

The parish is Springfield in Brisbane, and I got my first surprise when the camera started up on the zoom call to Fr Mauro, because he wasn't alone, he had Vanessa with him.

Vanessa was a part of their SLT, they went on to tell me. They have put into place a collaborative leadership strategy. Collaborative leadership—what a thought.

The next hour was hugely important for me, (yes, we went way over time).

Collaborative leadership

The next hour was hugely important for me, (yes, we went way over time).

Fr Mauro and Vanessa painted a picture for me of what parish life might look like.

Fr Mauro was clear that collaborative leadership, leading from a team, had rescued his priesthood. He remained firmly the parish priest, but he also came to know the gifts and talents of his parishioners and they were put to work.

Vanessa was outstanding. I could see her passion, I could see her excitement, I could see her sense of what might be possible if we shift our focus away from maintenance to mission.

You know above all, that phone call showed me that parish renewal can and does work. After wandering my way as a priest through a decade and a half of parish life they said to me, "Try that door."

Journeying together

Things moved pretty quickly from that moment. It seemed to me that this notion of a renewal of missionary endeavour is an anointed one.

Increasing docility to the Holy Spirit, the best of leadership, and the primacy of evangelisation — the three keys to parish renewal just seemed to make sense.

So, I got going on the journey, and better than that, I managed to get a group of brother priests for some of the main parishes in Christchurch to start on the journey with me.

This is a supernatural project, you see if we are going to be on mission in this world, a world that so desperately needs to hear the Gospel, it's not what we take with us on mission.

It's who we take. And here is the good news — it's our job to make a decision for Christ, the strength and the power to become missionaries will come from him. You can't fake this work of renewal.

Leading from a team is a beautiful thing—to my brother priests out there, don't be afraid! Put together a team that loves the Church, put together a team that has been converted, put together a team who will help you.

Cast a vision that is bold, and a mission that is fed from the heart of the Church. Trust in the programme that has been with the Church since the beginning.

There is no substitute for Scripture and sacred tradition. It's the way in which this is communicated which is the key.

• First published in the Catholic Weekly
• John Lewis Adams is the third bishop of Palmerston North,

Adams was a special guest speaker at the weekend conference which included discussions, workshops and inspiring testimonies.

Transforming parishes

The conference organisers aimed to equip participants from dioceses in Sydney, New South Wales and even New Zealand to transform their parishes into vibrant hubs of faith and service.

Sydney's Archbishop Anthony Fisher (middle) challenged participants to "rise to the occasion" in renewing their parishes.

"Creating communities of the faithful requires concerted effort by all if parishes are to be powerhouses of evangelisation" he said.

Adams' contribution

In his session, Adams spoke of leading his parish through Christchurch's post-earthquake trials and recovery.

Participants saw images of his beloved church reduced to rubble.

They heard how the seven-year trudge after the earthquakes saw his parish descend into a "dull pessimism" and his flock "masquerading in their faith".

He offered some practical advice based on his successful parish renewal experience which included fostering an atmosphere of spiritual growth and community engagement.

Inspiring a faithful fusion of clergy and laity, of vision and mission, to work together to foster a culture change in his parish needed fundamental change.

They started with creating 20-strong parish "project teams" he said.

The teams met weekly to begin the process of parish renewal.

He also created "leadership pipelines". The purpose of these was to identify parish leaders.

Another group encouraged parents of children preparing to receive the sacraments to complete the Alpha programme.

Deeper conversions occurred in a re-engaged parish that "became truly Catholic".

Baptisms grew from 30 to 90. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults groups began to flourish.

Adams discussed energising parishes and initiating renewal in more detail at other workshops.

Participant responses

" As Bishop Adams so eloquently shared, we all have a part to play in fostering a welcoming and compelling environment in which Christ's love is personally encountered" said the Director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation.

"It will be good to incorporate all the things Bishop John mentioned to open the doors and explore other ways people can come to church" a participant said.

"There is a real culture change ...  a little bit of revolution in our faith to reach out to our young people and older people to bring Christ to absolutely everyone. As people, not projects. And I learned that today." 

A young woman was encouraged to see so many young people in attendance.  

"We are the future of the church, and it's we who need to lead renewal in our churches, to experience the Eucharist and the joy of Mass ... after today, I am more confident to be what my parish needs me to be."

Bishop Richard Umbers thought it was an enriching day for everyone.

"Today people were very raw and real about sharing what they believe and that's what is missionary. There's a solidarity in that, in the mission. We're all in it and today has been a real sharing of faith."

Source

• The Catholic Weekly

However Adams is being cautious, saying he will seek advice if the Sons' ask to move to his diocese.

He will also be considering recommendations from a Vatican investigation.

It has been alleged that the Sons' leadership has spiritually abused people and performed unauthorised exorcisms on members of its community, but the group denied any wrongdoing.

The Vatican recommendations resulted in Christchurch's Bishop Michael Gielen giving the Sons' professed priests and brothers until October to quit the Christchurch diocese.

The Sons could move to another New Zealand diocese, but could only do so with the permission of the bishop of that diocese.

A Sons' spokesperson said they would not consider that option until the legal action had finished.

Leaving Christchurch also means farewelling their current support base along with property with a ratable value of $4.5 million.

There are six Catholic diocese in New Zealand. The other bishops ruled out welcoming the Sons' to their diocese, however Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe was traveling internationally and was unavailable to comment.

Adams wants to be inclusive

Adams supports the use of the Latin Rite, the same rite that the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer is controversially using.

Some of the Sons were spotted at Adams' episcopal ordination in Palmerston North in 2023.

Before becoming bishop of Palmerston North, Adams, also from Christchurch, regularly offered the old Latin Rite Mass in his Waimakariri parish.

Adams says his approach to the old liturgy is that he wants to be more inclusive.

When asked by Sinead Gill from The Press if he was sympathetic to the possibility of priests being effectively deported if no one else takes them in - as was the concern of the Sons' community - he said the investigation may uncover issues the public did not know about.

Source

• The Press

Currently on sabbatical and lecturing at the University of Tübingen, he is recognised for his expertise in liturgy and sacramental theology.

Grayland's new role at Würzburg includes teaching, research and pastoral responsibilities at the faculty church in the centre of the city.

The news of his appointment was announced by Bishop John Adams of Palmerston North in a letter to the parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes where Grayland served as parish priest.

Initially expected back in New Zealand in early August, Adams told parishioners Grayland's new opportunity required an immediate decision.

"I do believe that this is a good and fruitful use of his talents" wrote Adams.

Adams told parishioners that he has written to the Bishop of Wurzburg giving Grayland his permission to fulfil his priestly obligations in the Wurzburg diocese.

"I am expecting that Fr Joe will be away from our diocese for a number of years" he added.

International involvement

Grayland is an internationally published author known for his work on the Covid-19 "liturgical lockdown" and navigating Catholicism in a secular country.

His recent publications include articles in the Australian Journal of Liturgy and the Australian Journal of Pastoral Liturgy. He also regularly contributes to La Croix International and CathNews NZ.

Since arriving in Germany last October, Grayland has been appointed to an international group writing a continental commentary on Sacrosanctum Concilium.

The group met recently at the Vatican and is managed by two esteemed professors, Stephan Winter and Martin Stuflesser.

Grayland is in the Oceania - Australia - Asian writing group and the commentary is in English and German.

Closer to home, Grayland was an expert witness at the Australian Royal Commission into the abuse of minors, where he authored a briefing paper on the theology of reconciliation.

As well as his expert witness involvement, alongside Professor Thomas O'Loughlin, he co-hosts the globally acclaimed online discussion channel, Flashes of Insight, which features prominent international figures including Dr Phyllis Zagano, Dr Justin Taylor, Dr James Alison, Dr Margit Echol, Dr Carmel Pilcher, Dr Paul Zulehner, Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Cardinal John Dew.

During his sabbatical, Grayland has also contributed to the German Bishops Conference's international discussions on synodal theology.

Missed in Palmerston North

In Palmerston North, Grayland served as Vicar Forane, Consultor and parish priest of the Cathedral parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St Mary's Foxton.

He managed these roles during the pandemic, handling the complexities of church closures and government-imposed restrictions.

It could be said his experience seeing his church reduced to rubble during the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes uniquely qualifies Adams for the task. He has a broader sense of parish renewal perhaps.

"I was standing next to our triple unreinforced brick church which suffered the biggest of the earthquakes. I watched it fall into the adjoining creek" he recalls.

A blasted landscape

On 22 February 2011, Bishop - then parish priest - Adams had been at St Joseph's in Papanui for only three weeks.

Then the earthquake struck.

It claimed 185 lives and changed the cityscape forever. St Joseph's was one of many landmark buildings to fall victim to nature's forces that day.

"We never got back inside it. I crept in and saved some statues. No one knows about it, because you weren't supposed to go anywhere near those buildings" the bishop says.

"You literally risked your life because the aftershocks were quite big, for quite a long time."

The worst wasn't over though.

The death toll in his parish mounted.

"I buried a person a day for the next five days. I had just funeral after funeral after funeral" he says.

Keeping the parish going

Having to deal with an event so shocking, so huge and so sudden isn't something anyone expects. Yet survivors did pick themselves up and cope.

"When something happens, you surprise yourself. The adrenaline gets going and you really start just working faster and harder. And I was proud of my parishioners from that point of view" Adams says.

"We delivered food parcels, people brought in their barbecues, we'd put them on the backs of trailers and we'd go into the poor parts of Christchurch and have a big cookout for the people trying to live in the streets.

"It was a tremendous surge of goodness from the Catholic community."

Mass continued in a makeshift hall. Twelve hundred people shared a space built for 200.

For seven years, Adams rolled up his sleeves and got on with the job of leading his parish.

But while he rebuilt the exterior of his church, he felt something was amiss with his parishioners' interior lives.

"Our parish was treading water. People were happy. But there was no sense of urgency, there was no conversion" Adams says. He blamed himself.

He wanted to make disciples and nurture a parish where evangelisation thrived.

Evangelising the people

In 2019 when Adams was reassigned to a semi-rural parish in Rangiora, he saw a chance to revive the parish community.

"It was an ageing parish in decline — declining number of baptisms, declining number of confirmations, declining first Holy Communions."

Then began the task of establishing a vision and mission for the parish, starting with creating an atmosphere of welcoming.

It was a "painfully slow process" he says.

Slow processes weren't good enough he decided. He needed to be tough. "I had to be bold" he says.

"We started doing things like on the night confirmation class started, the parents would drop their kids off for confirmation and we wouldn't let [the parents] go home. They would go and do Alpha.

"So, we not only sacramentalised the kids, but we evangelised the families.

"Out of a parish of 500, we had 380 doing Alpha! Those doing Alpha were leading the next course. The parish started to catch on fire and the fruits started to come."

Leading parish renewal

Adams plans to share the strategies he used in his four-year term in Rangiora at the Parish Renewal Conference that starts on 3 August.

"I want my brother priests to know this is possible and it works. It's about engagement and about creating ‘on ramps', getting people on the ‘on ramps' on that journey. I'm excited!" he says.

Sr Anastasia Reeves OP from the Parish Renewal Team is excited about what the bishop will bring to the conference.

"This time a year ago Bishop John was a regular parish priest, leading transformation effectively but very humbly.

"I think it will be a great gift to our local church for Bishop John's experience and wisdom to be shared more widely."

• To register for the conference, click on: Parish Renewal Conference

Source

• Catholic Weekly

Adams was ordained bishop by the President of the New Zealand Bishops Conference and Bishop of Auckland, Steve Lowe and also installed as the third bishop of Palmerston North.

Among the co-consecrating bishops was the emeritus first bishop of Palmerston North, Peter Cullinane and the emeritus Coadjutor Bishop, Owen Dolan who recently celebrated his 95th birthday.

Also in attendance, representing Pope Francis, was the Apolstoic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa.

By way of formality, Lowe welcomed Rugambwa, thanking him for Adams' appointment.

The diocese has been waiting for four years for a new bishop.

To the laughter of the large congregation, Lowe then gently reminded Rugambwa still has another job to complete: the appointment of a new bishop for Hamilton.

Rugambwa is responsible for recommending priests to Cardinal Louis Tagle, head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, for their appointment as bishops in New Zealand.

Rugambwa read the letter of appointment from Pope Francis and afterwards held it high, showing it to the people and clergy.

Lowe ,while bishop of Auckland, still remains apostolic administrator of the Hamilton diocese.

Towards the end of the ordination liturgy, Adams spoke to the well-wishing congregation, saying that prior to the ordination he was given good advice.

"There's only one thing worse than a boring homily, and that's a long boring homily" he said.

Adams said he would be short, the all-knowing congregation laughed politely.

To his credit, without being rushed, he was short.

Despite describing his own abilities as "surely modest", Adams said that he was confident in approaching the role of Bishop of Palmerston North.

He then reminded everyone of Luke's gospel, saying he was not alone and the Holy Spirit accompanied him.

"Anything is possible for God," reflected Adams.

Principal ordaining Bishop, Stephen Lowe pours oil of chrism anointing Bishop Elect's head.

At times, an emotional Adams paused when thanking his family.

His mother was in the congregation, as were his brother and sister-in-law.

Saddened that his brother Tony and sister Maria were not able to join him today, he said it was a joy to come from a loving family.

Adams shared that not long after his appointment was announced, he was also informed that he needed to have open heart surgery and that during the course of the surgery, his heart was stopped for 90 minutes.

"What was the Lord doing?" he asked himself until he discovered the word Manawatu means to have a still heart.

"The Lord is mysterious in his providence."

Speaking words of thanks to numerous people and groups towards the end of his speech, Adams also addressed his brother priests, thanking them for the hospitable welcome to this person from Christchurch.

In return, he said he wanted to be a wise and loving father for them.

In conclusion, Adams also thanked his brother bishops, saying he is learning practically from them what it means to be a bishop and that he is looking forward to sharing the "happy burden" with them.

Reflecting on the Gospel, Adams opined that our common discipleship will have great power and efficacy if it is lived with Jesus, but he realised that even in Jesus' time, not all shared this view.

Indeed, he commented that in the Synagogue, soon after Jesus claimed to have the Holy Spirit with him, ‘they' tried to take him and throw him off a cliff.

"I was greatly comforted when I flew into Palmerston North to notice there weren't too many cliffs around this place."

Adams said he is looking forward to joining the people of Palmerston North in ‘our' attempts to keep Jesus Christ alive.

The appointment was announced in Rome at 10pm New Zealand time, Thursday 22 June and it fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Bishop Charles Drennan in 2019.

Ordained as a priest in 2003, Christchurch-born Adams is the parish priest of St Peter Chanel Parish in North Canterbury.

He is a trained teacher who has served as the Christchurch Diocese Vicar for Education since 2013 and the diocesan Council of Priests chair since 2015.

"I was initially surprised but then joyful to hear, just over a week ago, about the invitation to become the next Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North," says Adams.

"Whilst I am saddened that my very happy and fulfilled days in the Diocese of Christchurch will soon come to an end, I have experienced God's providence in my life enough to know that the power of his grace is not limited by location.

"Surely, we now live in a time that urgently needs to hear the 'good news' of the Gospel.

"To the people of the Palmerston North diocese, I want to say that my prayers for you have already begun, and I am looking forward to living and sharing with you that same 'good news'," said Bishop-elect Adams.

Pope Francis has put a synodal way of being Church at the forefront of the minds of Catholics, and Adams is known for his collaborative leadership style.

After attending a talk by Divine Renovation's Fr James Mallon Adams became completely convinced that the Divine Renovation model was a genuine path forward.

"The path forward, a breakthrough for me, was when I realised that one of the strategies for leadership is collaborative leadership, where the particular weaknesses and faults that I have can be ameliorated by having a team, a senior leadership team.

"That's just absolutely suited me," said Adams on the Divine Renovation Ministry YouTube Channel.

The President of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, Bishop of Auckland Stephen Lowe, warmly welcomed the Pope's announcement.

"We are delighted with Fr John's appointment as the new Bishop of Palmerston North," says Bishop Lowe.

"Bishop-elect John is a loved parish priest who will bring a rich experience of pastoral and spiritual leadership to his new diocese.

"We look forward to sharing with the people of the diocese in the ordination of their new shepherd."

A date is yet to be set for the ordination of Bishop-elect Adams, but it is likely to be by the end of September.

Bishop-elect John Adams' CV

Date of Birth: 18 November 1963
Place of Birth: Christchurch, New Zealand
Priestly Ordination: 4 July 2003; Diocese: Christchurch

Education
Northcote Primary School, Christchurch 1968 - 1974
Casebrook Intermediate School, Christchurch 1975 - 1976
St Bede's College, Christchurch 1977 - 1981

Degrees, awards, diplomas
Bachelor of Science Canterbury University, NZ
Diploma in Teaching, Christchurch Technical College, NZ
Bachelor of Theology, Auckland, NZ
Advanced Diploma in Theology, Sydney, Australia

Priestly formation
Good Shepherd House, Christchurch 1995
Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland, NZ 1996 - 2003

Priestly ministry
July 2003 - February 2004: St Teresa's Parish - assistant priest
2004 - 2005: St Patrick's Parish, Greymouth - assistant priest
2005 - 2007: St Patrick's Parish, Greymouth - administrator
2008 - 2010: Christ the King Parish - assistant
2011 - 2018: St Joseph's Parish - parish priest
2019 - current St Peter Chanel Parish - parish priest

Other Christchurch diocese appointments
Tertiary Chaplain 2008 - 2010
Clergy Trust Fund 2011 - 2021
Council of Priests 2009 - current
Chair, Council of Priests 2015 - 2023
College of Consultors 2014 - still current
Episcopal Vicar for Education 2013 - current
Chair, Education Council 2015 - current

Source

• Supplied NZCBC
• Divine Renovation Ministry