Sunday, December 16, 2018

******************************

NZ CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE


New interfaith booklet promotes peace and understanding (10 Dec 2018)

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Committee for Interfaith Relations (NZCBCIR) has released a revised booklet promoting Interfaith Relations in Aotearoa New Zealand - Te Whakatairanga i te Nohotahitanga o nga Whakapono i Aotearoa ...

*******************

FROM THE SECULAR PRESS 

************

Gordon Copeland: A life of achievement, driven by faith (obituary)
Such was Gordon Copeland's personal charisma, business and political acumen that many who knew him well believed that, had he chosen to stand for one of the major parties, he would in all likelihood have become a Cabinet minister – or even prime minister ...

Breaches 'technicalities'
The leaders of several southern schools which appeared in an Auditor-general's report for being in financial difficulty, say they are on the list for ''mere technicalities'' rather than anything serious...

************
The following two articles describe horrifying abuse at Catholic institutions in Invercargill and Dunedin.  The first details the abuse of schoolboys by Charles Afeaki, a former Marist Brother, at Invercargill's Marist Primary School. The second describes the mistreatment of children at St Joseph's Boys Home, Doon St., Dunedin and the St Vincent de Paul Orphanage for Girls in South Dunedin - ml
************

Invercargill man who was sexually assaulted by Marist Brother shines light on dark past 
Windows covered by a psychedelic paint job concealed a dark secret in Invercargill. Now one victim of a Marist Brother who raped children is letting the sunlight in. Chris Morris reports.

Sisters of Mercy a dark misnomer (text and video)
A Dunedin boy dumped at a Catholic orphanage by his father endured five days of violence at the hands of the Sisters of Mercy. Half a century later, he is still searching for answers. Chris Morris reports.

****************************************

INSPIRED WORD 

Luke 3:10-18 The preaching of John the Baptist
A reading and commentary by Sister Stephanie Kitching.

******************************************

CRUX - Edited by John L. Allen Jr. and Inés San Martin


** Dutch Church is facing an uncertain future, but new bishop is up for his task
The cathedral in Roermond, in the Catholic southeast of the Netherlands, was filled to the last seat. More than twelve hundred people were there to see Harrie Smeets receive his episcopal consecration on Dec. 8. "The Church in all times, but especially in these times, should not let itself be put in a museum cabinet, as if it were a relic from a bygone era. Nor should the Church protect itself with bulletproof glass, being all too well pleased with herself. Instead, she should be out there in the world," the new bishop said ...

** Jesuit author: Pope Francis inspires faithful to practice mercy
Jesuit Father Thomas Massaro is Professor of Moral Theology at Fordham University. He writes and lectures frequently on such topics as the ethics of globalization, peacemaking, environmental concern, the role of conscience in religious participation in public life and developing a spirituality of justice. His most recent book, 'Mercy in Action', analyzes the social teachings of Pope Francis...

** John Allen: A reality check on expectations for February child abuse summit
Under any circumstances, the announcement in September that Pope Francis plans to convene a summit Feb. 21-24 for all the presidents of bishops' conferences around the world, along with the Vatican's senior leadership, to discuss the clerical sexual abuse scandals in the Church would have been big news. After the Vatican invoked that summit in November in instructing the U.S. bishops to stand down in adopting new accountability measures, however, it was foreordained that American analysts will treat February like Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta - a high-stakes, history-making exercise. Before expectations spiral completely out of control, however, it's important to say for all kinds of reasons, this is not going to be Yalta on sex abuse, and to hope that it will be is a fool's errand. Let's lay out the reasons why, and then touch on what would actually count as success...

******************************************************

NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC PERIODICALS & NEWSLETTERS 

'NZ Catholic' is a national newspaper published by the Catholic Bishop of Auckland. http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz 

Catholic Diocese of Hamilton. 'Kete Korero'. https://issuu.com/search?q=%22kete+korero%22

Catholic Dioceses of Palmerston North and Wellington. 'Wel-com'  http://www.welcom.org.nz

Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. 'Inform' http://www.chch.catholic.org.nz/?sid=25

Catholic Diocese of Dunedin. 'The Tablet' https://catholic-diocese.squarespace.com/back-issues

The Nathaniel Centre. The New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre. 'The Nathaniel Report' http://www.nathaniel.org.nz/

NZ Catholic Education Office. School News Update  http://www.nzceo.org.nz/news/ 

Society of Mary. 'Marist Messenger' http://www.maristmessenger.co.nz


'Tui Motu Interislands'. An independent Catholic magazine. http://www.tuimotu.org/

*******************************************

NEW ZEALAND COMMENTARIES ON THE SUNDAY READINGS

Fr Frank Bird sm. Living the Word: Sundays of the Year: Discussion Guide - http://livingtheword.org.nz

Marist Messenger. Daily Reflections https://www.maristmessenger.co.nz/category/features/

********************************************

FACEBOOK

The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand

'NZ Catholic' newspaper

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

Holy Cross Seminary

Marist Seminary, Auckland NZ

*****************************************

NEWS OF THE CHURCH IN NZ AND THE WORLD







*************************************************

EMPLOYMENT 

Teaching vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised on the Website of the Education Gazette: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz

Vacancies in the Catholic Overseas Volunteer programme, contact: volunteers@caritas.org.nz 

Job vacancies in the Catholic dioceses of Auckland: http://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/category/vacancies/