Sunday, February 16, 2020

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

NZ CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE

http://www.catholic.org.nz

NZCBC on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CatholicNZ/posts/
** Pope Francis has issued his "Querida Amazonía" (Beloved Amazon) Apostolic Exhortation in response to the Amazon Synod held at the Vatican last October (13 February)

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

'NZ CATHOLIC'

Website: http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NZ-Catholic/262886647205656
Full text articles: https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/2020/

In issue no. 582, February 9 - 22 2020: West Coast memorial to past worship site blessed ... Caring and advocacy in a spirit of compassion (Sr Catherine Hannan QSM) ... Kiwi-Filipinos now papal knight and dame ... Youth on fire at Hearts Aflame ... First Mass in NZ waters was 250 years ago (2-page photo feature) ... Milestone for Dunedin's last Christian Brother ... Keeping hope alive at Bethlehem University ... Long confession queues at convention (Chaldean Eastern Catholic Church in Australasia).

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

FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

Demand for Catholic education high, as parish numbers dwindle
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/118909389/demand-for-catholic-education-high-as-parish-numbers-dwindle
Although he is a man of faith, Father Simon Story can still feel dismay. As a senior Catholic priest in Taranaki, families approach him for the religious endorsement required to get into a Catholic school.  However come Sunday morning Mass, those same families are often nowhere to be seen. "It definitely is disheartening when parents seem to think that attending a Catholic school is all that is required to demonstrate a Catholic faith," he says.

The story of a Catholic brother who took his own life
The playwright Dean Parker remembers the Marist Brother from Napier with a dark past.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/02/10/1023220/brother-who-took-his-own-life#
I went to primary school at Napier Marist, whose famous old boys were Paddy Donovan, lightweight boxing bronze-medallist at the Empire Games in Cardiff, and John Gillies, Machine-Gun Murderer of Bassett Rd - the terror of the Standard Twos. There was a Marist Brother there who was a great movie fan and would tell us the story of the latest movie he'd been to: Hitchcock thriller, Rogers & Hammerstein musical. Which was totally against the rub of the time because we were all being brought up on sport ...

Church apologises after schools learned of priest's conviction through media
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/119432999/church-apologises-after-schools-learned-of-priests-conviction-through-media
The Catholic Church has been forced to apologise to outraged parents who only learned their parish priest had been convicted of sex offences through a story on Stuff. Sosefo Sateki Raass quit the priesthood after pleading guilty to indecent communication with a person under 16 in March 2019.

Former Catholic Brother admits sex offences in Wairarapa in 1970s
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=12307963
A former Catholic brother and school teacher has admitted historic sexual offending.
Stuff reported that Kevin Healy, 81, appeared in Napier District Court on Wednesday and admitted four charges of indecency between a man and boys aged 12 and 13, and one of indecency with a girl aged under 12. The offending occurred when Healy was a member of the Marist Brothers, in 1976 and 1977, in Wairarapa. Healy was also a school teacher at the time. He will be sentenced in March.

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

NEWS OF THE SCHOOLS

St Joseph's. Pleasant Point: Cerebral palsy no barrier to 8-year-old with a love of sport
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/119536304/cerebral-palsy-no-barrier-to-8yearold-with-a-love-of-sport
Charlotte Walker has her sights set on this year's Halberg Games as her next step to realising her dream of donning the silver fern at the Paralympics. The 8-year-old Timaru girl with cerebral palsy was the first to cross the finish line in the Challenge Wanaka adaptive event on Thursday.

Three of a kind and a pair back to school (photo caption)
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/three-kind-and-pair-back-school
St Joseph's Cathedral School pupils (front from left) twins Ben and Liam Davis (9), and (back from left) triplets Dylan, Matthew and Brayden Arlidge (10) are in the same class, Toroa, this year. The year 6 pupils are the only sets of twins and triplets in the school. School principal Jo Stanley said it was the first time they had all been in the same class.

Transfer signed and sealed
http://www.oamarumail.co.nz/community/transfer-signed-and-sealed/
The ownership of an Oamaru secondary school has been signed off by the Ministry of Education. Ownership of St Kevin's College, which had been run by the Christian Brothers since 1927, was transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin at a special ceremony at the school's chapel in late 2019.

St Kevin's offers $5 dinners
https://www.oamarumail.co.nz/community/st-kevins-offers-5-dinners/
Bargains are hard to come by these days. But with meals prepared by a qualified chef for $5, St Kevin's College appears to be offering one.

AgriKids And Young Farmer Of The Year Winners Announced
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2002/S00161/waikato-bay-of-plenty-agrikids-and-fmg-jr-young-farmer-of-the-year-winners-announced.htm
A trio from St Mary's Catholic School in Putaruru have been announced as the Waikato Bay of Plenty AgriKids winners. Called "Mixed Breed", the team was made up by Isaac Farrell, 11, Liam van der Heyden, 12 and Genevieve Farrell, 12. They have been invited to Christchurch to compete in the Grand Final, along with second place getters from Waikite School and third place, also from St Mary's Catholic School.

Manawatu teen gets ticket to canoe polo World Championships
https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/119355416/manawat-teen-gets-ticket-to-canoe-polo-world-championships
Being the youngest player in the New Zealand under-21 canoe polo squad hasn't fazed Manawatu teen Alyssa Shepherd. The 16-year-old has just been named in the New Zealand under-21 team going to the World Championships in Rome in September. Manawatu's Kelsey Wilde and Georgia Wheeler were also picked in the squad, but Shepherd, who is year 12 at St Peter's College, is the only one in the team still at school.

A dab hand in the show ring
https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/rural-people/dab-hand-show-ring
Jared Rutten, (16), of Invercargill, has been showing calves most of his life and doing well at it. A Verdon College pupil, Jared  comes from several generations of dairy farmers, and has been mainly showing milking shorthorn calves at A&P shows since he was about 5.

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

INSPIRED WORD

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW3-dG1A3neGPJ041T9vjVw  (Under: Created playlists)

Matthew 5:17-37 Teaching about the law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdH_HXi0V7U&list=PLeDNiKpHSQBCBkgGtJ8PkooBg6ajG0C--&index=7
A reading and commentary by Very Rev. Frank Neslon and Rev. Canon Jenny Wilkens at St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington.

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

STATION XV

http://station15.co.nz/

Episode 147 — Exhortation, Celebration, Consecration and Conversion (February 15, 2020)

Two big moments from Pope Francis — his new apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia and his decision to turn a Roman palace into a homeless shelter feature in this month's episode of The 15th Station. Two New Zealand issues fall in between those: Cardinal John Dew's case for religious freedom and the decline in the number of religious sisters in the country, although that picture is complicated. What's also complicated is a decision to grant "ethical vegans" the same rights as people of faith. Join Anna, Don, Gavin and James for a typically robust discussion ...

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

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

http://cruxnow.com

Mixed reactions to Querida Amazonia from Brazilian bishops
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2020/02/mixed-reactions-to-querida-amazonia-from-brazilian-bishops/
São Paulo - The post-synodal apostolic exhortation published by Pope Francis on Feb. 12 generated mixed reactions from the Brazilian episcopate. While some expected more radical transformations, other bishops believe the document reaffirmed the paths for change that had been opened with the preparatory works for the October 2019 Pan-Amazon synod ...

Why did Francis punt on married priests in his Amazon document?
https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/02/why-did-francis-punt-on-married-priests-in-his-amazon-document/
Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis's 16,000-word apostolic exhortation concluding the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, which has been the object of speculation and fevered expectations ever since the gathering of prelates that occasioned it concluded last October in Rome. During the summit, debate over the viri probati, meaning tested married men who could be ordained as priests to serve isolated rural communities, was the most contentious issue, and ever since people have been wondering how Francis would rule. In the end, what we got is the sound of silence. The pontiff opens by saying, "I will not go into all of the issues treated at length in the final document" of the synod, and proceeds to ignore the debate over married priests altogether. Advocates of the viri probati would be perfectly within their rights to point out that he doesn't say "no," but opponents would be equally justified in insisting that he also doesn't say "yes" ...

**********
EMPLOYMENT
**********

Catholic Social Services, Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Theraputic Social Worker
https://wn-catholicsocialservices.org.nz/counselling%20and%20social%20work
Details in 'NZ Catholic' February 9 - 22 p.20, at https://www.seek.com.au/job/40834227 and from reception@wn.catholic.org.nz; tel 04 385 8642
Applications close 27 February 2020.

Teaching vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised on the Website of the Education Gazette: https://gazette.education.govt.nz/vacancies/?Keywords=catholic#results

Vacancies in the Catholic Overseas Volunteer programme:
https://www.caritas.org.nz/get-involved/catholic-volunteers-overseas

Job vacancies in the Catholic diocese of Auckland: https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/administration/staff-vacancies/

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

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

https://www.catholic.org.nz/

***********************
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/

Fr Kevin Waldie sm. Sunday Reflection:
https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/category/sunday-reflection/

***********************
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'  https://chchcatholic.nz/?sid=25 (Latest news - Latest Inform)

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  https://www.nzceo.org.nz/network-update/

St Columban's Mission Society. 'The Far East' https://www.columban.org.au/media-and-publications/the-far-east-magazine/archive/

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

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul NZ. News in Brief:  https://bit.ly/2EFXF82

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

*********
Facebook
*********

NZ Catholic Bishops' Conference
https://www.facebook.com/CatholicNZ/

Catholic Discovery NZ (Catholic Enquiry Centre)
https://www.facebook.com/pg/catholicdiscovery.nz/posts/

'NZ Catholic' newspaper
https://www.facebook.com/NZCatholic/

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
https://www.facebook.com/caritasaotearoa/timeline

Holy Cross Seminary
https://www.facebook.com/HolyCrossNZ

Marist Seminary, Auckland NZ
https://www.facebook.com/Marists

Society of St Vincent de Paul NZ
https://www.facebook.com/Society-of-St-Vincent-de-Paul-in-New-Zealand-1065775963583004/

*****************
News of the Church
in NZ and the World
*****************

http://cathnews.co.nz/category/new-zealand/

http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz

https://www.romereports.com/en/  (video)
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rome+reports&sp=EgIIAw%253D%253D

Morning Catholic Must Reads : https://bit.ly/2TILT2N

http://www.cruxnow.com

http://www.lastampa.it/vaticaninsider/eng