Dunn made the comment at a farewell lunch for Dame Lyndsay Freer, who for so long was the voice and face of Catholic Communications in New Zealand, and latterly communications spokesperson for the Auckland Diocese.

Freer has been involved in church communication for over 37 years. The Auckland Diocese on Saturday marked her significant contribution with a light lunch for 40 people at the Pompallier Diocesan Centre.

A once regular in the nation's media, Freer modernised Catholic communications in New Zealand.

Auckland based, she fronted the Church's engagement with media reporters and journalists who regularly contacted her for comment.

Freer showed that modern communication, a subtle art, is conversational, and how something is said is as important as the substance.

An excellent judge of the mood and tone of the message, Freer knew the right touch and the media's ability to receive what she was saying.

There were many times when she did not want to comment, did not want to have her voice or her image associated with a range of topics, yet she fronted, always using the opportunity to sow a seed, make a point or simply to keep the relationship and the conversation open for the next media request.

A professional, she respected the media but in line with Pope John Paul II's catchphrase, she was not afraid.

Emeritus Bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn led the speeches at the farewell.

Dunn told the gathering that the Church has been very fortunate to have had Freer in this pivotal role for so long.

"The Church in New Zealand was the envy of Churches in other countries," Dunn said.

He commented that other churches were astounded with what New Zealand was able to achieve in having such a competent, talented and articulate person to help explain Church positions in the media.

It was a point reinforced after lunch when a guest commented that Freer gave Catholics and Christianity comfort in their faith and helped give them reason to believe.

Dunn praised former Auckland bishop Denis Browne's inspirational move to employ Freer initially as Auckland's communications spokesperson.

Competence has its detractors

Changing Catholic communications in New Zealand to engage with the media proved a threat to some people in the Church.

Something had changed in and around the bishops' conference.

Dunn explained that there was an idea surrounding the Conference that the New Zealand Church should have a variety of voices presenting the bishop's views to the media.

"I felt at the time that this was a mistake.

"I am now even more firmly convinced that we (the bishops) lost the plot.

"The Church has lost ‘brand recognition' since Lyndsay stepped down from the national role," said Dunn.

Implying the bishops' new model of Catholic communications is a lost opportunity, he suggested it may be a case of the Church talking more to itself than engaging in dialogue with the world.

Dunn says the decision has almost removed the church from the public eye.

Accentuating the positive of the previous communication model, Dunn said Freer epitomised professionalism, competence and respect and cited a recent example of how she even dealt with a media call at 9 pm on Good Friday!

"Talkback hosts, newspaper reporters or TV news producers sometimes do not know who to call if they want a quick and always ‘immediate' comment from the Church.

"I thought it ironic that, even after her retirement, Radio NZ still phoned her at 9pm on Good Friday for some comments on how church attendances were going with the change to the Orange Covid Traffic Light.

"Lyndsay had no idea where to refer them at that hour so made a quick comment herself which was then quoted on radio news bulletins for most of Holy Saturday morning!"

"It proves my point that the NZ Catholic Church does need to rethink our media strategy," said Dunn.

Speaking with CathNews afterwards, a guest agreed with Dunn, saying the people of God are blessed with many God-given gifts and posed the question why we (the Church) are not using them.

"Seminaries teach people the likes of philosophy, scripture and theology. They encourage an interior life of prayer. Ordination is no guarantee bishops and priests have skills other than what the seminary taught them," she said.

Also at the lunch was media trainer and RNZ host, Jim Mora, who commented that people in the media who might not be sympathetic to the message respected Freer, the messenger, because of her expertise, professionalism and her manner in relating to them.

Long-time media training specialists and now friends of Freer, Brian Edwards and Judy Callingham also joined the occasion.

Pope Francis, in a 2020 message to the Catholic Press Association, urged Catholic media to build bridges, defend life and break down visible and invisible walls that prevent dialogue and truthful communication between individuals and communities.

At the initial outbreak of Covid-19, Francis commented "recent months have shown how essential is the mission of the communications media for bringing people together, shortening distances, providing necessary information, and opening minds and hearts to truth."

Additional sources

• Supplied
• Vatican News

It has been a pleasure and privilege to have known and been inspired by him.

I began working with Denis in 2002 when he became Provincial of the Society of Mary.

I worked closely with him, especially on how the Society of Mary and the Church at large in this country communicated their message.

At the time, we were being made aware of the sexual abuse activity that had existed within our communities in the preceding decades.

Denis was committed to ensuring that abuse complaints were heard and appropriately acted upon.

He appreciated the value of good communications but was not accustomed to talking to the media.

He agreed to undergo professional media training to enable him to fulfil his responsibilities as Provincial.

Denis was a modest man who was not comfortable in the limelight.

Yet, despite his nervousness, he courageously agreed to a lengthy television interview to discuss the situation in which the Society and the Church found themselves embroiled.

I was present at this interview and was moved by the honesty and humility of his responses.

In the following years, I met him on many occasions in Auckland, mainly when he came to oversee and guide the Logos Project.

He valued the care and empowerment of young people. He spent much time supporting Logos in its amazing work to develop faith-centred and resilient young people, especially those not reached by other Church agencies.

She has been arguably the most visible and recognisable "face" of the Catholic Church in New Zealand.

Recently NZ Catholic interviewed Dame Lyndsay Freer about her career in Catholic communications.

Dame Lyndsay worked for Auckland diocese from 1985 to 1997 and was National Director of Catholic Communications for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference from 1998 to 2008.

From 2009 until the present, she has worked as media and communications spokesperson for Auckland diocese and as media consultant for the Marist Fathers (Society of Mary) — both part time roles.

Dame Lyndsay has also had a significant involvement with the Catholic press in a governance role.

She chaired the board of Zealandia for several years and is today on the NZ Catholic board.

Her work for the Church was recognised with her being made a papal dame in 1995.

Source

• nzcatholic.org.nz

Auckland Diocese spokesperson Lyndsay Freer was interviewed on RadioLive last Thursday.

Mrs Freer told CathNews, "It's no surprise, after reading his apostolic exhortation, Joy of the Gospel, and the many impromptu homilies at his daily Masses and public audiences, that Francis breaks new ground for Catholic sociology, while preserving doctrinal integrity.

"The carrot rather than the stick is his preferred modus operandi focusing on the fact that we are all embraced and loved by God."

The news of Time Magazine's choice of Pope Francis as Person of the Year was also covered by:

• The New Zealand Herald
• Radio New Zealand National
• Fairfax Media
• TVNZ
• TV3
• Scoop

Truth also mentioned the Pope's selection as person of the year, providing a link to its source entitled Crime which when clicked takes the reader to the New Zealand Herald.

Source:

• Supplied: Lyndsay Freer
• Image: Time Magazine

Fr Gielen captured some of the excitement of the event and spoke with the Hamilton Diocese's Kete Korero, diocesan and parish news.

How did you hear about Pope Benedict XVI's resignation?

FrM: I was in the Chapel when a friend of mine came in and said "Pope Benedict has renounced his papacy!". Because he said it in Italian (and his Italian wasn't very good- we tend to speak a bit of pidgin Italian here) I thought "he's died!": it took quite a while to understand.

In hindsight people remembered that Pope Benedict had said in an interview a couple of years earlier that if he thought he couldn't fulfil his duties he would resign and we had a couple of seminarians who were serving him at a Mass who said he was going blind in one eye and was extremely slow and laboured: they could see that he was unable to perform his office.

How did the election of the new Pope unfold?

Leading up to the conclave we had a Cardinal come here [to the student residence], Cardinal Sean Brady of Ireland. That was really impressive and really brought it home because he was quite sombre. I was praying with him in the Chapel one day and it was pretty eerie thinking; "I'm sitting with one of the Cardinals who is going to be in the conclave in a few days time, choosing the next Pope- it could be him!"

There was a very active following of the conclave to the point where one of our classes finished early and one of the guys put on a live stream of the conclave from Italian television, of the Cardinals entering the Sistine chapel and the door being closed: that was really impressive! And every time the smoke went up guys would be watching and anticipating.

When it came to the actual period of voting guys were going down every vote, but I told everybody, "Look, it's going to be a long conclave- it obviously won't be quick!" Continue reading

Long before the advent of television, St Thomas Aquinas said, "faith comes from hearing", and the Catholic Church in New Zealand, once again, at least for a limited time, had a face and a voice.

Around about five years ago the Catholic Church in New Zealand opted for a new model of communications, and rather than the face and voice of one spokesperson, it looked to spread the load and bring more spokespeople to the fore.

At the time, spreading the load, new faces, new voices, different faces, different voices, different ways of seeing the Church through the media, sounded like quite a good plan.

It probably still is, but I'm beginning to wonder if it is too adventurous a plan for a small country, because in the five years or so since Catholic Communications closed the Church seems to have become faceless and voiceless.

Yes, there have been numerous media releases, Tweets and Facebook posts. There's even been an occasional media comment by a bishop or Church spokesperson, but they seem to have mainly fallen on deaf ears.

Media relations is a special skill

I think it's generally true that most organisations prefer the media to tell 'their' version of the truth. The Church, which prides itself on truth, is no exception.

Church truth, its belief and practice, is often somewhat nuanced as evidenced by Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post who reported recently on Pope Benedict's last public mass.

Describing Benedict's movements, Failoa wrote in the Washington Post: "He walked with a gilded cane in the shape of a cross" as people cheered "Long live the Pope!"

The "gilded cane in the shape of a cross" was actually a crozier, the shepherd's staff that symbolizes a bishop's role as the leader of his flock.

Sometimes it seems the media just doesn't 'get' the nuance of the Church.

The Church may not have a monopoly on the media not understanding its stories and events, but living in a post-Christian focussed society, it's kind of understandable the media doesn't have religious experts, understanding for example, Church theology, philosophy, history and liturgy.

The former Cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio, was often described as a shy man with an aversion to journalists, but on the day of his inauguration as Pope, Francis acknowledged the work of the media representatives, greeting them as "My dear friends".

His comments were greeted with cheers and several reporters shouted "Viva!".

Pope Francis clearly understands the importance of a relationship with the media, but it is likely to be rare that he meets with them.

As well as using media statements and social media to engage with society, the media also want a face, a person to relate to and with whom they can build a relationship and trust.

Pope Francis will generally use a Vatican spokesman to tell the Church's story and to keep the relationship alive.

For many years the Catholic Church in New Zealand fostered relationships with the New Zealand media. However by remodelling its communications, it seems to me we may have lost some impetus, lost our edge, lost our important perspective in a post-modern society.

For example I find it interesting that the New Zealand media is now preferring former TV reporter and now Anglican priest and communications spokesman Jayson Rhodes or a myriad of faceless university academics to talk about the church and matters of interest to the church and society.

It's perhaps timely to again recall Thomas Aquinas', "faith comes from hearing", and ask whose faith, and what is it that people are hearing?

I guess it's now no secret that I'm applauding the personal initiative of Auckland Bishop, Patrick Dunn, to send Lyndsay Freer to Rome to cover the Papal conclave and election of Pope Francis.

My reading of the situation is it seemed that after Dame Lyndsay arrived in Rome the New Zealand media seemed better informed, that she seemed to ease their way though something generally quite foreign to them, and the people of New Zealand and the Church both benefitted from her skill.

In today's world, the Church is regarded as somewhat counter-cultural, and as such the cultural void brings with it a great opportunity.

There is something unique about how the Church relates to the media as distinct from that of PR spokespeople from politics and the public sector generally.

Church media spokespeople are distinct from 'public relations' spokespeople in politics and business. As a result, there are a number of factors the media and New Zealanders expect from Church media spokespeople, that I think makes this specialist role worthy of further re-consideration:

• to be immediately available
• to be well educated with respect to catholic theology, history, liturgy and practice
• to be informed and if necessary to be able to arrange to get the right person to speak at short notice
• to be able to speak to New Zealand society in a way appropriate to the medium
• to have a warm and personal manner
• to have a sense of humour
• to be relaxed under pressure
• to engage in conversational style
• to be able to think on their feet while fronting the nation's media
• to be across development in new media and apply them appropriately to the Church's message
• and ultimately, to be credible.

When I look back at this list of skills and abilities that a professional Church media spokesperson needs, and match them against the opportunities to effectively outreach into to the wider New Zealand society through the media, I can only conclude this is indeed a specialist task requiring a full time media office for the Catholic Church in New Zealand.

- John Murphy is a Marist priest working in digital media at the Marist Internet Ministry, New Zealand.

It is something unique in the world - the perceived "power" or influence of the papacy, the huge crowds of people from every part of the globe gathering here, and those elsewhere praying with them for divine guidance as the cardinals begin their deliberations. Added to which is the quaint juxtaposition of state-of-the-art technology alongside traditional mediaeval communication by smoke signals. Then there is the real uncertainty of no front-runners and the possibility of a surprise, in spite of all the speculation and so-called informed commentary.

It is Wednesday midday here in Rome and we have just had more black smoke signalling the unsuccessful morning ballots. Three down and we wonder how many more to go.

At least there's no fear of it lasting for thirty three months like the one in 1268 in Viterbo, a town north of Rome.

By the time this is read we may find that against all predictions to the contrary we have a pope. So I along with many thousands of others, will have my eyes fixed on the Sistine Chapel chimney, watching and waiting in the rain and cold for the result of the next ballot in the hope of the miracle of an early result.

Most people agree that there are four main requirements for the new pontiff of the 21st century: gobal vision, missionary zeal, strong management ability and last but not least, determination to clean up the sexual abuse issue once and for all. And because we are a faith community as well as a global organisation, this cannot be addressed effectively unless the pope is a man of deep and prayerful faith with a joyful heart and a humble spirit.

The first requirement is for a man of broad global vision. Only one third of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics lives in the West and it is expected that by mid-century it will be one quarter.

The second is about evangelisation. This means renewing missionary zeal amongst Catholics and reaching out to communities beyond the Church. I believe there is a misconception outside the Catholic Church about evangelising. It is not playing the numbers game and attempting to "convert" people to Catholicism. It is rather about stripping away all the unnecessary baggage of the institution that prevents people from seeing and being attracted to the truth and beauty of the person of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

The third challenge is that in order to oil the wheels and achieve the above, strong governance right from the top is required. Some of the old ways of management need to be replaced with 21st century best business practice in the Vatican Curia to make for improved communications, efficiency, transparency and accountability. A tall order indeed, as anyone who is familiar with the practices of the Curia will tell us.

As for sexual abuse, no more pussy-footing can be tolerated at any level in the Church. Only a man of strength and determination with a clean record in his handling of this disgrace to our faith and our Church can be contemplated.

- Lyndsay Freer is the Catholic media spokesperson for the Auckland Diocese. She is writing from Rome.

People of all ages and stages and ethnicities from the very young to the very old all with eyes fixed on the chimney, as well as on the lose-up shots on the large tv screens keen to see result of the first ballot.

Who could say the Church is dead when clearly it's very much alive and in good heart?

When huge amounts of black smoke billowed from the chimney at 7.45pm there was a mighty buzz.

Shortly afterwards everyone dispersed, no doubt to return tomorrow in even greater numbers.

Cellphone and internet connectivity is somewhat intermittent at times.

Given the great numbers of people in one place, many talking on their cellphones, and the hi-tech electronic security cage over the adjacent Sistine Chapel and the Santa Marta accomodation where the cardinals are staying it's no wonder that there is occasional overload.

What an anomaly - all this technology contrasted with communication by smoke signal!

- Lyndsay Freer is Communications Spokesperson for the Diocese of Auckland.

A number of candidates' names keep surfacing with the Vatican-watchers and in the international media, yet we are reminded of the old saying that "he who enters the conclave as a pope leaves it as a cardinal".

There is a strong belief here in Rome that with no clear frontrunner, the process is likely to take longer than the two days of the last papal election in 2005. This will be the 10th conclave to be held in the past 100 years. Of the last nine, only two took five days but most lasted for two, including that which elected Pope Benedict in 2005.

It could boil down to a choice between a candidate backed by the Roman Curia cardinals and their allies, and a candidate put forward by cardinals intent on radically reforming the Curia after tensions between these two factions.

People familiar with the workings of the Vatican are openly discussing the crisis of governance that has been uncovered or at least brought to the surface by the recent "Vatileaks", which points to serious trouble in the Curia.

That famous English priest, theologian and writer of the early 20th century, Monsignor Ronald Knox, when asked why he didn't visit Rome, said, "He who travels in the barque of Peter had better not look too closely into the engine room." Continue reading

"If the reading of her bible took place in those times when she was entitled to a break from her work-related duties, her employer's action is clearly an infringement of her personal freedom and gives a negative message about Sky City's views on religious faith to the more than 50% of New Zealanders who are Christians," says Lyndsay Freer.

Read Lyndsay Freer's opinion piece below

In their attempt to ban the carrying of a small bible in an employee's pocket, Sky City learned the hard way that personal freedoms are not to be tampered with.

We New Zealanders take pride in the fact that we live in a democratic society where religious freedom is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Clearly, the carrying of a small Bible in this woman's pocket could not reasonably be regarded as a breach of uniform code if it was there for her own personal use and she was not attempting to enforce her beliefs upon others.

If the reading of her bible took place in those times when she was entitled to a break from her work-related duties, her employer's action is clearly an infringement of her personal freedom and gives a negative message about Sky City's views on religious faith to the more than 50% of New Zealanders who are Christians, as well as to those of the many other religious faiths that make up our society. One might consider it an oxymoron for a casino to take the high moral ground, and might ask just what kind of an employer is Sky City when they can subject a long-time employee of sixteen years service to such embarrassment, anxiety and discrimination.

What will Sky City do next? Forbid staff members to wear a cross, or the Star of David around their neck, or to display some other religious symbol such as the head scarf? And what would be their policy if an employee of the Islamic faith wished to take regular time away from duties to observe the prayer schedules at certain times of the day? As I understand it, under New Zealand law, employers are not permitted to discriminate against the employment of people on grounds of ethnicity, gender or religion. The public outcry over the pocket bible might be a salutary lesson to them.

Lyndsay Freer is a Media Consultant and spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Auckland

Image: Diocese of Auckland

It out-rated 3News and Campbell Live and became a trending topic world wide on Twitter, but attracted a lot of negative comment on Facebook and was generally panned by TV critics.

"Perhaps the most disturbing thing about GC is that it is funded by NZ on Air with your money and mine in a $420,000 grant for a programme that showcases young, urban Maori who have moved across the Tasman in pursuit of their 'dream of money, sex and fame'," says Catholic Media Consultant Lyndsay Freer.

"Thankfully, these kids are not representative of the majority of Maori youth or of young New Zealanders of any ethnic background," she said

"What an irony that Television New Zealand is to close TVNZ7 because its limited audience doesn't justify its continued existence, while NZOA pumps close on half a million dollars into clichéd trash like GC which is arguably the pits of the largely second-rate reality TV genre."

Freer said that if a publicly funded agency believes it worthy to promote moronic young TV characters whose dream is to fritter away their money and integrity on the Gold Coast (even if there are some who do), then there should be a re-evaluation of New Zealand on Air's mandate.

"We are all assailed by what has been called 'the globalisation of superficiality' in our reading and viewing habits. Even our daily newspapers are not averse to running front page trivia about such matters as Prince William's wife's sister's derriere or the latest celebrity who is botoxed to the hilt or who has returned to rehab for the umpteenth time," she said.

"One could go on to deplore the values and sexual exploits of these kids in GC (five girls in five nights was one guy's boast). Certainly other programmes showing on our screens are no better. But the point is that NZ on Air is mandated to use public money to encourage quality and representative local programming. The TV3 series will explore emigration from a Maori perspective and how Tikanga Maori supports them as they adapt to life in a new country," they write. Really?

Those involved in promoting overseas tourism to New Zealand just might not agree. More to the point is the comment of Labour MP, Shane Jones, 'It's probably evidence why the exodus of some Kiwis is good for New Zealand.'"

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

The list of baby names queried or rejected by the official registry in the past two years shows the agency is at least being consistent. There were three attempts to register Lucifer (all rejected), and one would-be Messiah was also declined.

The list runs to 102 and consists mainly of names rejected for being too close to titles - Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight. One couple wanted to call their child Mr.

Religious-themed names were rejected on the grounds of causing offence and several others were rejected for not being words.

One proposed name was `89′, another was *, and one was . (full stop). Another keyboard-inclined parent tried to call their child / (presumably he/she would be known as "Slash"). Single letters - C, D, I and T - were declined, though J and q were queried but later accepted.

The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act says names can be declined for causing offence, being over-long or "without adequate justification" resembling an official title or rank.

Other names that were queried but later accepted included Fanny, Jnr, Shady and Nevaeh (heaven backwards, which, curiously, was the 31st most popular girl's name in the United States in 2007).

Lyndsay Freer, spokeswoman for the Catholic Church in Auckland, said some Christians could object to the name Lucifer, but since millions of Spanish speakers called their children Jesus, she did not see how the name Messiah could be offensive.

Lucifer comes from a Latin expression meaning "light-bearer" and was the name given to the dawn appearance of the planet Venus, which heralds daylight. There was originally no connection to the devil.

Source: Sunday Star Times, Stuff