WelCom News

There is Never a Time for Hope to Die

WelCom April 2019:   “It is through Abraham and Sarah that we Christians are brothers and sisters with all Muslims. The Abrahamic religions – Jews, Christians and Muslims – are the faith communities that descend from, and are united in, the worship of the God of Abraham.” – Bishop Charles Drennan A message from Cardinal John

We pray for our Brothers and Sisters – Lord, hear our prayer

WelCom April 2019: E īnoi ana mātou mō ō tātou tuākana, tēina – E te Ariki, whakarongo mai ki a mātou In the wake of the shooting attacks at two Christchurch mosques on Friday 15 March 2019, in which 50 people lost their lives and 50 were injured, prayers, flowers, drawings, tributes and financial support have flowed

Season of Lent, Easter and the Resurrection

WelCom April 2019: Te Wā o te Reneti, te Aranga me te Aranga Ake ‘May our Lent this year be a journey … bringing the hope of Christ also to creation, so that it may be “set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:21). Let

Multi-faith vigil brings city together

WelCom April 2019: Mary Eastham On Sunday 17 March, two days after the horrific massacre at the mosques in Christchurch, nearly 400 people gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Palmerston North to grieve, mourn and pray. Celebrants were from the Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Baha’i, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities. Having leaders of the

One individual goes bad with a gun – this is not us!

WelCom April 2019: Joe Green is the Lay Pastoral Leader at Wellington South Catholic Parish. As a police inspector he managed arms control 1998–2013. He suggests an evidence-led approach, reflecting Dame Sian Elias’ comment, ‘legislation should be based on solid research, not pious hopes’. We know ‘it’s not us’ because our history tells us so. The

Anzac Day 2019 – We remember them

WelCom April 2019: Fr Brian Fennessy The first Anzac Day was observed in 1916, one year after the Landings at Gallipoli, during WWI. New Zealand society wanted to remember and honour her sons who had fought and died at Gallipoli. April 1916 was an interim period between the Evacuation from Gallipoli and the arrival of the

Visit to Tānenui-ā-Rangi Marae

WelCom April 2019: On Friday 1 March, Bishop Charles Drennan, Bishop Peter Cullinane and staff from the Palmerston North Diocesan Office, made a visit for the first time to the mana whenua at Tānenui-ā-Rangi Marae, Maxwell’s Line, Palmerston North. Rangitāne are the iwi. Their hapū and whānau hold historical and current residency and traditional authority over

Is chocolate at Easter a treat we take for granted?

WelCom April 2019: Anne Powell rc for ANZRATH Wellington “Every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic – act.” Pope Francis, 1 January 2015 If you’re buying chocolate this Easter look for slave-free logos on chocolate wrappers as an indicator of slave-free cocoa. Chocolate is

Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver

WelCom April 2019: Fr David Dowling On Sunday 5 May Cardinal John Dew will celebrate a Mass at 10.30am, St Francis de Sales Church, 173 Clyde St, Island Bay, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver. Every year, the Missionary Sisters of St Peter

Stewardship Breakfasts with Cardinal John

WelCom April 2019: Christine Walkerdine ‘My dream is to have everybody in the Archdiocese of Wellington understand Stewardship, and to appreciate that it is a spirituality for life in order to help us be intentional disciples of Jesus Christ and assist others to do the same.’ – Cardinal John Dew 2016 To support the realisation of

True to Ireland

WelCom April 2019: Éire’s ‘conscientious objectors’ in New Zealand in World War II Annette Scullion In the 1930s a number of Irishmen left their native Eire and came to New Zealand to seek a better life. But with WWII came conscription. However, as Ireland was neutral during WWII the men refused to betray Ireland and fight

Vatican Astronomer to present at Cardinal’s Lunch, 7 May

WelCom April 2019: On Tuesday 7 May, at Te Papa Museum Wellington, internationally acclaimed astronomer and Director of the Vatican Observatory, Br Guy Consolmagno sj, will be presenting as the speaker in the first of the 2019 ‘Cardinal’s Lunch’ series. As an expert in his discipline and alumni of MIT and the University of Arizona, Br

‘Our God is too small’

WelCom April 2019: The Pope’s Astronomer, Br Guy Consolmagno sj, will deliver a free public lecture, 7.30pm, Tuesday 7 May, at Sacred Heart College Performing Arts Centre, Lower Hutt. Pope Francis appointed Br Guy to be Director of the Vatican Observatory in 2015. He is also the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. He is a

St Patrick’s College students teach English in Thailand

WelCom April 2019: Ben Prendergast, Yr 13 During the 2018–2019 summer holidays, eight students and two teachers from St Patrick’s College Wellington went on a two-week school trip to visit the Marist Mission in Ranong, Thailand. Their purpose was to experience what life is like for Burmese migrants, see Marist faith in action and teach English

Seriously Surprising Easter

WelCom April 2019: This Easter, Bible Society is giving away 85,000 copies of The Seriously Surprising Story, a new booklet in their popular children’s series. The story draws children into the biblical story of Easter as they walk in the footsteps of Jesus’ followers on the road to Emmaus. Children’s author Joy Cowley described The Seriously

Youth focus for day of encounter

WelCom April 2019: Thomas Saywell This year’s Palmerston North Diocesan Pastoral Day was held on 14 March at St Mary’s Church and Te Rau Oriwa Marae in Whanganui. The Diocese has set up annual Pastoral Days to offer a place of discussion for people from various ministries, communities, regions and walks of life, and give them

Safeguarding Workshops Underway

WelCom April 2019: Safeguarding is about ensuring we have a culture and environment where the safety of children, young people and adults is paramount. Safeguarding is about the physical, emotional, spiritual and sexual safety of everyone. A programme of workshops is underway in the dioceses. Brendy Weir Fifty-three people attended the Archdiocese’s first Safeguarding workshop held

safeguarding.catholic.org.nz

WelCom April 2019: The Catholic Church in New Zealand’s National Office of Professional Standards (NOPS) has launched a new website (https://safeguarding.catholic.org.nz/). NOPS Director, Virginia Noonan, says, ‘This provides another channel for reporting abuse and information on safeguarding in the Church, including policies and protocols for this work. The site has downloadable guidelines, policies and standards for

Call for conversion

WelCom April 2019: In his Letter to the People of God, 20 August last year, Pope Francis wrote to all Catholics about the crises within the Church and of the deep wounds and pain caused to victims of sexual abuse. Pope Francis calls on us to bring about change, a ‘conversion’ within the Church, and to

Cardinal George Pell found guilty of sexual offences in Australia

WelCom April 2019: On 5 March, Cardinal George Pell, 77, was sentenced to a maximum of six years in prison, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. He was convicted of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys after Sunday Mass in the 1990s. One of them, ‘J’, is now aged in his 30s and

Vatican launches investigation into George Pell’s child sexual abuse offences

WelCom April 2019: Following news of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction in February this year, the Vatican confirmed it is investigating the disgraced cardinal over child sexual offences committed in Australia. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will handle the case, which could see Cardinal Pell defrocked. A Vatican analyst said it was a sign

Pastoral letter to the people and clergy of the Diocese of Parramatta

WelCom April 2019: Following the news of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction late February, the Most Rev Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, issued the following pastoral letter on 1 March 2019. Dear friends, The news concerning Cardinal George Pell and his conviction and incarceration on historic child sexual abuse crimes has dominated local

Church to wage ‘all-out battle’ against abuse

WelCom April 2019: The Vatican sexual abuse summit – the Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church – was a four-day summit meeting attended by almost 200 Church leaders from around the world, held in Vatican City from 21 to 24 February 2019. The decades-long sexual abuse scandal has erupted in various parts of

Catholic Thinking – Theologies of Lament, Listening and Healing

WelCom April 2019: Our Catholic Thinking articles about theology, morality, ethics and faith heritage, are written for WelCom by lecturers from New Zealand’s Catholic Tertiary Education Providers: Good Shepherd College – Te Hēpara Pai; and The Catholic Institute of New Zealand (TCI) – Te Pūtahi Katorika ki Aotearoa. Dr Christopher E Longhurst, TCI lecturer, revisits Catholic

Befriending the Old Testament: Part 2

WelCom April 2019: Dr Elizabeth Julian rsm Last month I suggested that the Old Testament was really the story of God’s love affair with a particular group of people. This month we will consider the Old Testament as a library rather than a book, as well as some of the other names we use to describe

Gospel Reading: Sunday 7 April 2019

WelCom April 2019: John 8: 1-11 1 And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her