I said if anyone wanted to leave at that point, I would not be offended. Two women got up and quietly left.

The unexpected happened. The rest of the crowd found a freedom to talk openly about their spiritual experiences. This was grace-filled time for us all.

If the room has not been needed for the next speaker, we could have gone on for hours, nearly 500 people eager to own the sacred in their lives.

This kind of sharing is now usual, although on a smaller scale: two women drinking tea and talking about "coincidence;" a stranger stopping on the street to ask for prayer; a car pulling up at the gate and a man introducing himself - he'd had a profound spiritual experience and wants to understand it; people coming to their first retreat day and saying, "I'm not religious, but..."

Conversations about the great reality we call God have become so common that we've coined the name, "Cup of Tea Spirituality" but apart from that, people wear no labels. Many have never been part of a church, don't know the Bible, and ecclesiastical language is foreign to them. Some have left church.

Yet clearly God is working in their lives.

In these encounters I hear many wonderful stories that I can't repeat. They are not my stories to tell.

However, because people have often made a statement about being spiritual and not religious, I have asked, what's wrong with being religious? The answers vary but almost always the word "judgmental" comes up. Sometimes that word carries pain.

There is anomaly in that people know they're talking to a committed Catholic. While I try to explain that the Church is a very wide umbrella covering people at all stages of formation, I suspect that doesn't go anywhere.

I wish I could adequately describe the richness of the faith, the love, the Mystery that is beyond words. But I guess that has to be experienced, and can't be truly known from the outside.

Late last century a Massey survey revealed that while 80% of New Zealanders believed in God, less than 20% went to a church. The gap is huge, and I have to leave it with God. I don't have any answers.

But I do know that God is much bigger than our ideas about God, and instead of clutching at certainty, it is good to pray our questions. My biggest question concerns my own judgements about judgemental attitudes! Mea culpa!

Of this, I'm sure: New Zealand is not a secular country. We are all spiritual beings on a human journey, all looking for ways to come home to ourselves.

Awareness of the sacred is everywhere.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother. grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

The 2013 New Zealand census shows that of the total population of 4.2 M, population, 3.9 M stated their religious affiliation. Of those, 1.635 M, (1 in 4), say they had no religious affiliation, up from 1.297 M who did so in the 2006 census. This represents a 26% increase and it means New Zealand one of the most secular countries in the world.

• People affiliating with Christianity fell 8 per cent to 1.9 million.
• All the major Christian churches have declining membership,
• The smaller Pentecostal church and other smaller evangelical institutions have show an increased membership of their respective churches.
• The Anglican Church has lost almost 100,000 members with the total population down to 459,000. The sharp decline means Catholicism, even though recording a small decline in membership - (17,000 fewer than in 2006) - with a total population of 492,000 has become the most populous religion in New Zealand.
• The membership of other religions, those associated with migrants to New Zealand, has significantly increased.
• A Christian majority in New Zealand is uncertain. The number who identified as "no religion" or who didn't answer the religious affiliation question was more than the total number who identified as Christian.

Source

• International Business Times
• NZ Catholic
• Supplied
• Image: New Zealand in HDR

Recently, however, this long-standing distance between religion and politics has been threatened. Migration is one factor that has helped religion to return to centre stage in public life. While Muslim minorities have protested over questions of blasphemy and free speech, Catholic leaders have intervened in political debates about gay marriage and abortion, and conservatives have lamented that European societies are losing touch with their Christian past. The political scientist Eric Kaufmann has argued that religious believers have a demographic advantage in birth rates that will see Europe's secularisation reversed by the end of this century.

Religious justifications for terrorism might be the most visible and dramatic threat to liberal states from increased religiosity, but the separation of religion and politics has recently been challenged in multiple ways and in many countries, not just in Europe. Both the US and Canada have experienced controversies over the attempted use of religious law in family arbitration, while Islamic leaders in Australia have provoked intense debate after giving sermons denouncing gender equality. However, the renewed visibility of religion in public affairs provokes particularly intense challenges in Europe since it undermines well-established, but often tacit, conventions on the limits to religious influence on public life. Continue reading

Sources

• Aeon Magazine
• Image: Mystagogy

Schools are legally obliged to be secular, but under the Education Act they are allowed to close for an hour a week for religious instruction, as long as children can opt out.

Peter Harrison, the founder of Facebook group Keep Religion Out of Schools, says children that opt out of religious studies often feel isolated and are left with nothing to do.

"They are effectively treated the same as in detention," Harrison says.

Continue Reading

For millions, austerity Christmas will include a dose of carols. The trend has been noticeable for a couple of years. The great cathedrals expect to be packed on Christmas Eve. Charity services, family services, carols by candlelight and sing-along concerts abound. A London church, St Martin-in-the-Fields, is offering "carols for shoppers", while across town the grand organ of the Royal Albert Hall, a 9,997-pipe monster, will pound through some two dozen carol concerts in December.

Anglican voices are prominent in less cosy contexts, too. On December 6th the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, made front-page news with a commentary on the riots that gripped English towns last August. Too many young people feel they have nothing to lose, the archbishop argued, decrying consumerism and government cuts to youth services. A fortnight earlier, 18 Anglican bishops wrote a joint letter condemning plans for a per-household benefits cap (intended to ensure that welfare recipients do no better than the average working family). This risked being "profoundly unjust" to poor families with children, said the bishops.

The Anglican church has become rather proprietorial about anti-finance protesters camped in the City of London outside St Paul's Cathedral, after a muddled initial response that saw two senior clergymen resign. Yes, the protesters' demands are vague, but that just shows that the Church of England is used as a place to air society's "unspoken anxieties", suggested Archbishop Williams last month. The Bishop of London has organised meetings between Occupy London protesters and the chief financial regulator, Hector Sants. On a homelier note, a priest reports that two protesters have started attending cathedral services.

Continue reading "God in austerity Britain"

Image: The Economist

In his address to the Bishops of New Zealand and the Pacific Pope Benedict spoke of the contribution of priests and religious. He also said that the pastors were not expected to do everything themselves and acknowledged importance of laity in spreading the Gospel in New Zealand and the Pacific. He asked the Bishops to ensure adequate lay formation and training for the work they do.

"The lay faithful's role in the well-being of the Church is essential since the Lord does not expect pastors to undertake by themselves the entire saving mission of the Church," Pope Benedict said.

"I understand from your reports that your task of spreading the Gospel often depends on the assistance of lay missionaries and catechists. Continue to ensure that a sound and ongoing formation be afforded them, especially within the context of their associations. In so doing, you will equip them for every good work in the building up of the body of Christ (cf. 2 Tim 3:17; Eph 4:12). Their zeal for the faith under your continued leadership and support will surely bear much fruit in the vineyard of the Lord."

Pope Benedict also commented on the secular nature of society that the New Zealand Bishops had noted in their report, "a reality that has a significant impact on the understanding and practice of the Catholic faith. This is seen specifically in a weakened appreciation for the sacred nature of Christian marriage and the stability of the family. In such a context, the struggle to lead a life worthy of the our baptismal calling (cf. Eph. 4:1) and to abstain from the earthly passions which wage war against our souls (cf. 1 Pet 2:11) becomes ever more challenging. Yet we know that, ultimately, Christian faith provides a surer basis for life than the secular vision; for "it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear" (Gaudium et Spes, 22).
On behalf of the Bishops of CEPAC (Pacific Islands) and the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop John Dew addressed the Holy Father and thanked him for his leadership of the Church today.
In his address, Archbishop Dew explained that New Zealand, in particular, has become a very secular country and that both New Zealand and the Pacific Islands have suffered economically over recent years.
"There are many pressures on individuals and families. We are pleased to say that both Conferences are aided by our clergy and our close collaborators - our Catholic Schools. We all try to counteract secularism by encouraging our Catholic people to be a true leaven in society".

"The Churches in our countries are young and vital, they are Churches which continue to search for ways to grow in holiness, and to find new ways to live and preach the Gospel, he said. "We are all responding to the challenge of the New Evangelization and preparing to celebrate the Year of Faith, which we see as a wonderful opportunity to preach the Gospel anew".

He spoke of World Youth Day in Sydney as being one of the highlights for the New Zealand Church since the last ad limina visit in 2004. "The highpoint of the week for all was the Vigil and the Mass celebrated by you. We thank you for your presence in Sydney and for your inspirational ministry to our young people," he said to the Holy Father.

"The canonization of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was celebrated as much throughout New Zealand and the Pacific as it was in Australia. St Mary of the Cross had visited New Zealand and lived there for some time; her Sisters have worked and are working in many of our jurisdictions," said Archbishop Dew.

"It is the fervent hope of all of us that the Cause for Beatification of Suzanne Aubert, the Foundress of New Zealand's only indigenous religious Order - the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion- will be progressed through the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. She is known and revered throughout New Zealand and the Pacific as she was among the first Missionaries to come to our part of the world. She is remembered for her life and sanctity and for her unstinting care of the Maori people. We pray for her Beatification".

During their ad limina the New Zealand bishops met with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to discuss the Cause for the Beatification of Suzanne Aubert. Archbishop Dew said the Congregation was pleased with the progress that has been made and explained that Pope Benedict XVI is particularly interested in the Congregation's investigating and promoting Causes from non-European countries.
The bishops discussed the new translation of the Missal with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. "The Congregation was particularly interested to hear about the bilingual aspect of New Zealand's translation of the Missal and appreciated the effort taken to do this," said Archbishop Dew.

During their meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith the bishops spoke about the importance of reinforcing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and how next year will present a special opportunity to do this as it marks the 50^th anniversary of Vatican II. Next year will also mark 20 years since Catechism of the Catholic Church was introduced.
Archbishop Dew said many people were interested in The Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand and expressed the necessity of having opportunities for greater learning about the faith, what it means to belong to the Church, and ecclesiology and Christology.

At the Mass with CEPAC at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, Bishop Peter Cullinane of Palmerston North delivered the homily in which he used the words of St Paul to appeal to those present to have the "minds of Christ".
Archbishop Dew said the most prominent theme throughout the ad limina visit was the New Evangelization.
"All congregations emphasised the New Evangelization and expressed the importance of taking every opportunity to preach the gospel - not just to those who have not heard it, but also to the baptised who need to hear it again," said Archbishop Dew.

"Some suggestions for achieving this included priests' taking special care with homilies and ensuring the language used speaks to people today. The message was very clear - the New Evangelization is about creating a stronger Catholic identity in those who are baptised and a deeper sense of what it means to belong to the Church today".

Listen to Vatican Radio Report and hear the Pope's address

Source

• News.va
• NZCBC
• Image: NZCBC