Action at Parliament against poverty and inequality
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral was closed on Thursday 12 July and will remain closed until further notice. A peer reviewed seismic assessment has advised that the Category I heritage listed building is ‘’earthquake prone’’, as at roof level the ceiling diaphragms are insufficient to carry loads under the current building codes. The Cathedral currently presents a risk to occupants in an earthquake.
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A Pastoral Letter from Cardinal John Dew was read in parishes of the Archdiocese at Masses on the weekend of 16-17 February. In the Letter Cardinal John directed parishes to undertake a review of their churches and presbyteries, in the light of pressures from earthquake resilience issues, the reduced availability of priests and the directions
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WelCom February 2019: Waitangi Day: Day of rest? End-of-summer-holidays-day? Holy-day? Monsignor Gerard Burns Waitangi Day has perhaps many layers but it is also officially a national day commemorating the first signings of the Treaty of Waitangi – Te Tiriti o Waitangi, in 1840. When I was younger, back in the early 1970s I remember graffiti around
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WelCom February 2019: Safeguarding practices have become the norm in society for organisations dealing with children and vulnerable adults, to ensure all are kept safe from harm, trauma and abuse, whether it be emotional, physical, or sexual. Within the Church everyone has responsibility for ensuring safe practices at all levels. Safeguarding practices apply to all volunteers,
Read more »In Rome my thoughts often turn to significant events which are taking place at home. One of those is an ecumenical prayer vigil organized by the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS), which will take place on Wednesday 20 February at St Paul’s Cathedral from 12.30-5pm. The vigil is to pray for a more socially just society, and to celebrate the last 50 years of ecumenical service by NZCCSS. I regret that I will not be attending, but I encourage anyone who can to drop into the vigil at any point which suits them. The various denominations will lead the prayer at different times, and the Catholic contribution will be at 2pm.
We are living in an unprecedented time in the history of the Church. There are major challenges for anyone in leadership today, from Pope Francis to anyone who leads in the Church in any way. I fully acknowledge that all leaders must be accountable to the people they serve, and that there should always be
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