The Anglican diocese recently sold St Albans via a trust. The church is now being used by the Sons of the Redeemer, also known as the Transalpine Redemptorists.

The group has drawn controversy over reported illicit exorcism practices and over unlicensed priests presiding over the Mass.

Reports raised questions about whether the vendors knowingly transferred the property to the group.

However, the Anglican Diocese clarified that the trust's stated purpose did not reveal any links to the Alpine Redemptorists.

They maintain a strong relationship with Bishop Michael Gielen and have kept him informed throughout the sale process.

"Bishop Michael and I have been in communication in the course of the past week" the Anglican bishop of Christchurch Dr Peter Carroll told CathNews.

"He understands that we sold the church in good faith to a potential ownership trust whose stated purposes betrayed no connection with the Alpine Redemptorists.

"We sold the church via a lawyer for a trust to be formed" Carroll explained.

"The name of the trust concerned a group styled ‘friends of St Albans'.

"At no point in our dealings with the lawyer was there information provided that identified that the effective owner would turn out be the Transalpine Redemptorists."

Earlier this month CathNews reported that the "booted" Transalpine Redemptorists acquired a historic chapel.

Catholic Bishop Michael Gielen earlier this year ordered the Transalpine Redemptorists to leave the Christchurch Catholic Diocese.

He also ordered four of its priests to cease celebrating Mass and not to conduct other "priestly ministry" for anyone outside the religious community.

"It is important to underline that the removal of faculties remains in force, so any Masses the priests celebrate with members of the public are illicit - outside the law of the Church", said Monsignor Brendan Daly, the canon lawyer acting for the Diocese of Christchurch.

Gielen's decision followed a Vatican investigation into serious allegations against the Order, including sexual grooming and unauthorised exorcisms.

In early November, the Transalpine Redemptorists announced on its "Latin Mass Chaplaincy Christchurch" Facebook page that it had acquired St Albans Church in Ohoka, North Canterbury.

Sources

• Supplied: Anglican Diocese of Christchurch
• CathNews

Last Friday the Order - also knows as the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer - announced on its "Latin Mass Chaplaincy Christchurch" Facebook page that it had acquired St Albans Church in Ohoka, North Canterbury.

But the Order's banned!

In July, Bishop Michael Gielen, who leads the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, told the Transalpine Redemptorist community members to leave the diocese within 90 days.

He also ordered four of its priests to stop celebrating Mass or conducting other "priestly ministry" for anyone outside the religious community.

This decision followed a Vatican investigation into serious allegations against the Order, including sexual grooming and unauthorised exorcisms.

Appeal overturns bishop's direction

In September the diocese said Gielen's decree requiring members to leave its area had been overturned following an appeal. However his ruling regarding the four priests remained in place.

Due process

Monsignor Brendan Daly, the canon lawyer acting for the Diocese of Christchurch, said the appeal procedure was an important part of "due process".

"It is important to underline the removal of faculties remains in force, so any Masses the priests celebrate with members of the public are illicit - outside the law of the Church" he said.

New home

St Alban's church - the building the Transalpine Redemptorists are now using - was originally built for the township's Anglican community in 1882. It was reportedly purchased for $500,000 and has been renamed.

It is now known as Mission Immaculata, the "Latin Mass Chaplaincy Christchurch" Facebook page says.

Father Michael Mary, the Transalpine Redemptorist chaplaincy's rector and founder, said the property the Order now owns was a "jewel passed down to us from early settlers".

"We are so grateful to the persons who have made this purchase possible" Father Michael Mary wrote on Facebook.

The chaplaincy intends using the church privately rather than as a public church, he said.

"We do not have any public status for the property... We have chosen to call it a 'Mission'. ...Fundamentally it gives us a presence north of the Waimakariri River" he said.

The Press reports there was a strong weekend turnout at the Mission - all the seats were taken, some people were standing outside.

Source

• The Press

Legal action could be pending, a lay community member says.

The Congregation of The Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer says they have grave concerns about "the calculated mischaracterisation" of their Christchurch community.

Gielen made the call to expel the Congregation's professed members last weekend after a Vatican investigation into alleged abuse and unauthorised exorcisms.

However Mark, a prominent Catholic and regular (English) mass-goer, supports Gielen's action though he is disappointed with diocesan communications that will not answer simple questions - such as:

• What authority does the diocese have over the property's use?
• What steps will the diocese be able to take to ensure the group no longer operates?
• What will happen on Sunday? Will the congregation turn up at St Alban's church?
• What sanctions are available to the diocese should the group ignore Bishop Gielen's instruction?

Mark does not understand why the diocese is not speaking and he cannot fathom why the diocese has not published the report.

"Could do better...even the Greens have come to the party" is how he describes the Christchurch diocese's communication.

"I accept some parts of the Vatican report may need redacting, but old-style communications don't really cut it in a Church that is going synodal."

CathNews has also asked if other New Zealand Catholic bishops will support Gielen's stance and deny The Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer access to exercise sacred ministry in their dioceses.

At the time of publication, Catholic Communications confirmed that only the Bishop of Dunedin, Michael Dooley, said he would not let them into the Dunedin diocese.

The bishops of Palmerston North and Auckland, John Adams and Steve Lowe, were away. Wellington Archbishop Paul Martin and Hamilton Bishop Richard Laurenson had not replied to Catholic Communications at the time of publication.

Community witness

In a recent homily, Pope Francis reflected on the strength of community witnessing in the name of evangelisation.

"Let us pause a moment on this image: the disciples are sent together, ... We do not proclaim the Gospel alone, no: it is proclaimed together, as a community" said Francis.

Mark says "The way this is being handled reflects on all of us".

"We've been through enough. I hope we've learnt some communication lessons along the way."

Earlier this year Pope Francis thanked the media for their work.

"In a certain sense, being a journalist is choosing to touch with your hands the wounds of society and of the world" said the Pope. "This is an occasion for me to thank you."

Source

• The Press
• Diocese of Christchurch
• Homilies of Pope Francis
• NCR

Catholic Social Services says the cost of essential food items and a lack of donations were behind the decision to close.

"It's terribly sad that our efforts to feed those who cannot afford food ceased because it had become unaffordable" says Simon Thompson, general manager of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch.

"The difficult decision came after 12 months of effort to find additional funding streams.

"With Catholic Social Services receiving very few donations of food and only a tiny discount from supermarkets, it was no longer financially viable to operate the food bank.''

At the time the food bank closed down, it was able to supply only about a dozen food parcels which volunteers were delivering each week to people in need.

Thompson says people seeking food parcels from Catholic Social Services should try approaching St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) which is its partner organisation.

Although the food bank has closed, Catholic Social Services is planning to reopen its soup kitchen programme soon.

Catholic Social Services offers a range of programmes through its Christchurch agency.

These include promoting a holistic approach by offering many things - ounselling, social work support, group courses for children and adults, advice about budgeting/advocacy, practical needs advice and assistance, and post-adoption services.

Source

• Otago Daily Times

Smith, a long-time voice for sexual abuse survivors, was sexually abused as a child while at John of God Brothers residential schools in both New Zealand and Australia.

Pleased that finally the children's cries for help that were ignored by the Church, the Police, the State and the people running Marylands are now public, Smith took the report to Rome.

The John of God Brothers are no longer active in New Zealand, but their headquarters remain in Rome. On Friday, Smith visited Fatebenefratelli - Curia Generalizia, 138 Via della Nocetta 263, with the hope of delivering the report directly.

Introducing himself over the Fatebenefratelli intercom, no one came to greet Smith and receive the report.

Hoping the brothers would read the report, he deposited it in the John of God Brothers letterbox.

"This is the head office and they do absolutely nothing but hide behind a bloody wall, I'm furious," he told Newshub.

Apologies aren't enough, Smith told Newshub.

"We're not going away, you can blank at us by not talking to us, you can shut the door and never let us in but it makes us stronger," he said.

And louder than ever.

Describing his years of schooling in New Zealand and Australia as "hell on earth", he says the Royal Commission's report means a lot to him.

"It means a lot, it means they can't bury it ever again. It's a government document, it can't be buried. It means a hell of a lot to me personally," he told Newshub.

This is the Dunedin resident's second trip to Rome.

Armed with a letter of introduction from Dunedin bishop, Michael Dooley, Smith hoped to meet personally with Pope Francis.

Smith was interviewed by the ABC but failed to meet the Pope.

Smith's first trip was in part funded personally by Dooley.

For his second trip, he approached the Christchurch diocese for help with his travel costs, however, while wishing him well the Bishop of Christchurch declined.

In a statement, the Christchurch diocese said Smith had previously been given support, redress payments and further support to attend a similar 2019 Rome summit.

Though Smith has received a compensation payment from the John of God Brothers, he told the ODT he was in Rome to demand accountability from Brs Joseph Smith and Brian O'Donnell, two church provincials who were at the head of the Order at the time of his abuse in the 1970s and '80s.

The Catholic Church had no honour and was "worse than any criminal" in the country, he said.

"I'm nearly 60 and I won't stop until I get what I want.

"I want justice, not only for myself — we're talking about real justice.

"It's pretty big for me to actually do all this stuff, but I have to do it.

"I have to make sure they're held accountable," Mr Smith said.

Smith is in Rome also to attend an international survivor meeting at which he will be an ambassador for all New Zealand abuse survivors.

The survivor meeting coincides with the first stage of Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality.

Sources

• Newshub
• ODT
• CathNews NZ

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Darryl Smith (pictured) was one of dozens of boys who suffered "extreme abuse and neglect" at Marylands School. Complaints show the school's abusive reign ran from 1955 to the late 1980s.

Now 59, Smith is raising money to go to an international summit for sexual assault survivors in Rome next month.

He's scrimped and saved, and has a Givealittle account to help cover his costs. He also approached the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch for help.

"Unfortunately, the diocese is declining the opportunity to raise money for your trip," the diocese replied.

Smith says the diocese's response is two-faced.

Request and response

Smith says the diocese promised to ensure the abuse wouldn't happen again.

It also said it would help survivors.

"They lied," Smith says.

He made the comment after approaching the diocese recently for help to attend an upcoming summit as an ambassador for all New Zealand abuse survivors.

However, in a statement, the Christchurch diocese said Smith had previously been given support, redress payments and further support to attend a similar 2019 Rome summit.

The bishops wish him well, the statement concluded.

In 2019, Smith flew to Rome after receiving personal financial assistance from Dunedin bishop Michael Dooley, who also gave him a letter of introduction to meet Pope Francis.

While in Rome, Smith was interviewed by the ABC but failed to meet the Pope.

Disappointment

Smith is disappointed his request to the Christchurch diocese was refused.

He said he hoped to be an ambassador for all New Zealand survivors of abuse and meet others at the conference to discuss progress being made about sexual abuse in different countries, share ideas and consider ways to work toward continued change in the Catholic Church.

He had planned to take the Marylands School report with him to share with other survivors.

He said at the last summit, he found it healing to meet survivors from around the world and exchange stories.

He explained that he felt he got some of his power back by being there.

Despite the Royal Commission of Inquiry process being "scary", Smith says he feels very positive about what the Abuse in Care report found.

The Royal Commission identified multiple failures, including those made by the Police, the State and Marylands, and the Christchurch diocese.

Source

• The Press

This will come as a relief to developers and the Christchurch Catholic diocese.

The diocese was providing $30 million towards development costs - funds it raised for the purpose.

Plans with developers were well underway last month when Council announced two-way Lichfield Street would become a one way system.

The precinct and carpark plans relied on the two-way system.

Developers said they will cancel plans to work in the area.

One-way systems just don't work for them there. Two-way systems do.

The latest option

Besides answering developers' desire for a two-way street, the Council says its new design aims to answer safety concerns. It will also offer additional space for people and outdoor dining than is currently the case.

It seems good news for supporters of the new Catholic precinct and parking building. The comprehensive design includes offices for youth ministry and social services staff, plus accommodation for the bishop and priests.

When it was first announced, Christchurch's then Catholic Bishop Paul Martin said he was keen for the Cathedral to be at the city's heart.

The precinct will be handy for the congregation, school groups and the public, with room for up to 1000 people, he said at the time.

He was pleased the precinct would stay open to the public to walk through. It would provide a pedestrian link from New Regent St to the Avon River.

All up, costs for the carpark building and precinct are in the millions. Fundraising for the Church's estimated share including land and buildings has begun, to cover:

• $85 million for the Cathedral
• $11 million for the relocated St Mary's primary school
• $30 million for the diocesan share of a joint venture for the 600-space parking building.

Source

• Stuff

The Court's decision in favour of the Church refutes Colin Morais's claim that it was not using his late sister's house in accordance with her last wishes.

Her wishes were clear.

When 52-year old Carol Morais died in 2016, she left her Bishopdale home to the Sisters of Mercy in Christchurch to be used for their benefit.

Her will said the property was not to be sold. If the Sisters had no use for the house, it should be left to the Christchurch Diocese's Catholic bishop "for the exclusive use of their canons".

As it turned out, the Sisters declined the gift of the house and it went to the diocese, which pledged to uphold the will's intentions.

Although the diocese initially intended to use the property to house a priest, the plan didn't work out.

Instead, after the property remained empty for a few months, the bishop offered it as rental accommodation to a young family while their new home was being built.

The $400 weekly rent went into the bishop's general account and was used, in part, to fund housing for retired priests.

When Morais' brother became aware of this, he began proceedings against the executors.

The gift of the property to the diocese was a "contingent gift that had not been perfected", he claimed.

As the property was given to the church for the "exclusive use" of its canons but was not being exclusively used by them, it should be given to him, he argued.

The executors and the diocese argued the will gave the property absolutely to the bishop, albeit with the accompanying wishes that it be used for the purposes of the Catholic Church and not sold.

Justice Cameron Mander disagreed with Colin Morais that the term "exclusive use" placed a restriction on how the diocese could use the property.

He said the use of the word "exclusive" was to reserve the benefit of the house to a particular group, not a particular use of the property.

The judge also referred to separate documents in which Carol Morais said:

"You must do your very best for the property to go to the Sisters of Mercy or the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. I do not wish for Colin to have this property. I have many reasons, most of which are known to you all."

Her will also said while her mother was alive " the house was a house of prayer, peace and sanctity. I strongly wish for that to continue."

Mander said the evidence showed that the diocese had sought to adhere to the will by using the property to benefit its priests.

Source

• Stuff

The diocese made one of 267 public submissions on the sale and, of these, 219 oppose the Christchurch City Council (CCC) proposal to sell the site to the Hong Kong-based car parking management company.

As well as a new Cathedral, and an administration centre, the diocese, which owns a neighbouring block, plans to build a 600-space car park building on its land.

Through its legal firm Chapman Tripp, the diocese claims the consultation process for the sale was flawed because the size and scale of the proposed car park were not made public.

"The consultation is therefore not genuine and is likely to be the subject of a challenge if the sale proceeds,'' the letter states.

Last November, Chapman Tripp made a request to the Council under freedom of information laws for "all materials held by CCC in relation to the intended future use of the site."

When the Council didn't release any drawings or plans of the proposed car park, Chapman Tripp complained to the Ombudsman.

"Our client's view is that the Council is delaying providing us with the information requested to frustrate the consultation process,'' the letter stated.

"The response from Council smacks of sophistry and it is our client's view that the consultation is not genuine."

The Council staff response to the Chapman Tripp letter was attached to the report for councillors.

It said, "these drawings and plans [for the proposed car park] either do not exist or are not held by the Council and the Council expects that these will be developed over time by the preferred respondent through the design and resource consent process."

But councillors have been told that the new Court Theatre's existence will be threatened without a car park building next door.

Others opposed to the sale raised different issues.

"Don't expand their empire. Look at ethical and community-based options for parking and/or use of this land," said one.

"At [the] very least, if you really want yet another car park, ... at least make it a council-owned and run car park and not just another Wilson park that serves only the wealthiest of our society, with little care of the future.''

Not everyone thinks it's a terrible idea, however.

One said the health and sustainability of the whole [arts and cultural] area was dependent on the car park building.

"This process should not be about a popularity contest for Wilson," said another.

Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel said CCC had previously decided to build a car park building on the site and the consultation process was only about the sale of the land.

A decision about the sale will be made this week.

Source

• Stuff
• Stuff
• Image: Wilson Parking

Bishop Grimes, Bishop Edward Joyce, Bishop John Cunneen, are buried under the floor of a side chapel of the cathedral.

Grimes, the first bishop of Christchurch, was the driving force behind the building of the cathedral.

The diocese has also applied to disinter Father Laurentine Ginaty and Bishop Matthew Brodie from a chapel at the St John of God hospital.

The future of the Chapel is uncertain.

A notice of an application to disinter the four bishops and the priest has been published in a local newspaper.

The notice also calls for any living descendants of the men to come forward.

The disinterment application is part of early preparations for the demolition of the cathedral.

Catholic diocese property head Tony Sewell the notice is just the start of the process.

"This is just to do with the burials so that we know when we invoke section 38 we have all things covered.

We are making sure we are following all the steps required."

The notice says that the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch knows of no surviving next of kin for Father Ginaty, Bishop Grimes, Bishop Brodie nor Bishop Joyce.

"But it must use its best endeavours to ensure that any such person is consulted," Sewell said.

The disinterment application requires that a public notice looking for relatives of the deceased bishops he said.

"Any living family members would be consulted on where the bishops would be reburied.

Grimes has been gone a long time. There may be some family members that we need to talk to, and that is how we find them," he said.

"It is important we track down any family members we need to consult with and get approvals from."

Source

stuff.co.nz

nzherald.co.nz

Meeking was the seventh bishop of Christchurch.

He was ordained as a priest in 1953 and then as a bishop in 1987. He served as bishop from 1987 until 1996.

Meeking served in a number of parishes in the diocese and held other pastoral appointments such as chaplain to Christchurch Hospital and representing the Catholic Church to the National Council of Churches.

He undertook doctoral studies from 1963-1966 in Rome at the University of St Thomas Angelicum.

In 1969 was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome where he worked for the next 18 years.

The bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin said: "Bishop Basil had a great love of priesthood and has left us a legacy of priests who have a strong identity in their priesthood."

Since his retirement as the Bishop of Christchurch, Bishop Basil worked from 1997 to 2006 with the late Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

He then resided in Christchurch and continued giving retreats and talks in New Zealand and overseas.

Click here to read more about Bishop Meeking.

Funeral arrangements

• Monday 15 June: From 10.00 am, Bishop Basil will be at the Carmelite Monastery Chapel (52 Halswell Road). People are welcome to come and pray during this time.
• Monday 15: Rosary will be recited at the Carmelite Chapel at 7.00 pm.
• Tuesday 16 June: a Vigil Mass will be celebrated at the Nazareth House Chapel,220 Brougham Street at 2 pm.
• Tuesday 16 A Vigil Requiem Mass in Extraordinary Form (Latin Mass) will be celebrated at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, 373 Manchester Street at 7 pm
• Wednesday 17 June: The Requiem Mass for Bishop Basil will be celebrated at 11 am at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, followed by burial at Bromley Cemetery, corner of Linwood Avenue and Keighleys Road

Source

• chchcatholic.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: twitter.com

The purchases are likely to be the first stakes in a larger site for a complex which may include a new cathedral.

Property and company records reveal the Catholic diocese has bought 10 vacant properties in the central city block bordered by Armagh and Manchester streets and Oxford Tce.

At 4340 square metres or nearly half a hectare, the church's new sites occupy more than a third of the vacant city block extending from Manchester to Colombo streets and adjoining the city's new Avon River promenade.

Eight of the properties are opposite New Regent St and another two on the corner of Colombo St and Oxford Tce.

The eight adjoining sites were sold to the church for $11m by Christchurch investor Ben Gough's company Tailorspace.

Sites, opposite Victoria Square and the Christchurch Town Hall, remain in the hands of Victoria Apartments Ltd.

The rest of the land on the block comprises several sites owned by the Carter Group.

This includes the derelict former PWC and the former Copthorne hotel site facing Victoria Square owned by Millennium and Copthorne Hotels.

A spokesman for the diocese confirmed the purchases but said any more information would come from the bishop when he was ready to make a statement.

The diocese announced in August it would demolish its earthquake-damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, once considered by some to be New Zealand's finest building, and rebuild on a more central site.

When the decision to pull down the existing Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was announced last month it triggered a vow by heritage enthusiasts to fight to save the building.

Christchurch Heritage Trust chair Dr Anna Crighton called it "the best and the most significant cathedral in the southern hemisphere".

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Martin was asked by RNZ's Phil Pennington if he thought the church should start publishing the names of clergy whom it had found guilty of abusing children even when a case hadn't gone through the court.

Pennington suggested that doing so would be a way of helping other victims to come forward.

Martin replied by saying, "Yes, you may be right." But he pointed out that he didn't set the policies for the Church.

He agreed that the suggestion was something that he could take to the Bishops' Conference.

"We will again discuss the cases that are coming up, and the point that you raise we will discuss it again," he told Pennington.

Martin says there was nothing in the file indicating the church knew of O'Brien's crime between 1963 when he arrived in Canterbury from the UK, and 1976 when he was convicted in court of indecency against a boy.

Subsequent investigations, however, show he began abusing a 4-year-old boy in 1964.

O'Brien returned to the UK in 1976. Martin said the file showed that the New Zealand church told the UK church about the 1976 conviction and kept tabs on O'Brien, he said.

"In 2004 when the complaint came in here, that complaint then went to England and he was not allowed to be in ministry," Martin said.

In 1976, a newspaper report from court quotes a doctor's report saying Father O'Brien was getting treatment for "a severe psychological problem" and if treatment continued then it was "unlikely" he would offend again.

Martin said there's no evidence O'Brien abused any children after his return to the UK.

In 2008, O'Brien threatened to sue the Christchurch diocese and the victim for libel, but that did not eventuate.

He died in 2012.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• Image: youtube.com

Martin said he would, but first had to sort out privacy issues and, until then, turned down requests for an interview.

O'Brien arrived in New Zealand from Ireland in 1963 and served at least seven parishes in Canterbury and the West Coast.

A church investigator's report in 2017 noted that in 1976 O'Brien was convicted of indecency with a 10-year-old.

The report said he had engaged in a "litany of offending against young boys in various parishes".

The investigator's report said The Church had a "comprehensive file" on his case, of assaults spanning 13 years and two other Canterbury towns.

In 1976 O'Brien returned to the UK.

He died, still a priest, in East Anglia six years ago.

One man who was abused by O'Brien when he was a child, George Russell, said "the church should be opening its books.

"It's only dealt with me, it hasn't dealt with the other ones."

By coming forward, Russell has now been put in touch with another Canterbury man whom O'Brien attacked starting when he was four-years-old.

He is now in his 50s.

It was time for the church to stop concealing abuse cases, both men say.

"It is opening up a big can of worms, a lot more than probably's ever been released by the church," the second man said.

In July, Russell wrote to the Pope, to say he was pleased there was a Pontiff who was acknowledging the extent of clergy abuse worldwide.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• Image: YouTube

However, they have expressed regret at what they call the conduct of some aspects of the debate.

The church leaders say there is a great deal of concern about the sometimes vicious nature of the debate.

"Vitriol and personal attack add nothing of value to a decision-making process, and in fact demean all of us in the city," they say.

Their joint statement of support and concern comes after the Anglican Synod voted on options to replace Christ Church Anglican Cathedral.

A 55% majority voted this week to restore and rebuild. It will cost about $108 million.

Christchurch's Christian churches say the saga has been long and difficult. They say every Cantabrian must be aware of the angst and debate over the future of the building.

The church leaders say the decision to demolish or rebuild was for Anglicans to make. But many Christians have felt a stake in the matter, even from the sidelines.

They say many have prayerfully supported their Anglican brothers and sisters, their leaders, and Anglican Bishop, Victoria Matthews.

With the decision made, the churches say they express unequivocal support for the Anglican community. They look forward to seeing a building filled with people and praise again.

They say, "Christians are fallible humans… so we acknowledge our shortcomings. However, as followers in the footsteps of Jesus, we are glad to be called by God to bless the city with hope, joy, creativity, beauty and love."

Matthews, says she had supported demolition. But she says that a government's offer of funding had changed her mind.

She said a new Christ Church Anglican Cathedral should be ready within ten years.

Fr Rick Loughnan represented the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch on the group and Mike Stopforth the Catholic Bishop's Pastoral Office.

Source

• RNZ
• Catholic Diocese of Christchurch

Image: RNZ

Despite warnings from staff, the strategy and finance committee had recommended council waive the fee. 

Mayor Lianne Dalziel, who backed the application at the committee stages,  said she had changed her mind on the matter.

At a council meeting on Thursday, Tim Scandrett and left-leaning People's Choice Crs Andrew Turner, Pauline Cotter, Jimmy Chen, Glenn Livingstone, Yani Johanson and Phil Clearwater voted to waive the fee.

Dalziel, Ali Jones, Vicki Buck, Jamie Gough, Raf Manji, Paul Lonsdale and David East voted against granting the remission.

The split vote meant the status quo - that the church be required to pay the development contribution - was maintained.

City councillors were torn about whether to approve the church's application, but council staff said granting a remission would set a dangerous precedent.

St Paul's School on Gayhurst Rd, Dallington, was red-zoned after the earthquakes and subsequently sold to the Crown.

The  diocese decided to merge the school with Our Lady of Fatima in Edgeware, creating a new primary school , St Francis of Assisi, on the Innes Rd site.

Two new classroom blocks were built and the church was invoiced for $150,617 under the council's development contributions policy to cover the cost of additional demand on infrastructure.

The school did not want to pay the bill and asked for a remission, saying its post-earthquake circumstances were unique.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: facebook.com

Council staff had recommended the church's remission application be declined.

St Paul's School on Gayhurst Rd in Dallington was red-zoned after the earthquakes and subsequently sold to the Crown.

The diocese decided to merge the school with Our Lady of Fatima in Edgeware, creating a new primary school on the Innes Rd site.

Two new classroom blocks were built and the church was charged a $150,617 fee, under the Christchurch City Council's development contributions policy, to cover the cost of additional demand on the infrastructure network.

The policy states that district health boards and charter or state-integrated schools could not be defined as the Crown.

But the Bishop's solicitor asked the council to make a discretionary exception.

The policy allows the council to make exceptions for "unique and compelling circumstances".

A report from council staff said many groups and businesses had been displaced by the earthquakes.

"There have been no development contribution remissions granted to any other person or business developing a site as a result of relocating from the red zone," the report said.

The report stated that although no other schools in Christchurch could "claim a precedent" if a remission was granted, other red-zoned property owners could take the same approach and make a remission application in relation to their new sites.

The circumstances outlined by the Bishop's office failed to provide compelling enough reasons for the fee to be waived, it said.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: chch.catholic.org.nz

Council waives fee $150,617 for school rebuild]]> 82916