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WelCom September 2024
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Ko te Rā Īnoi i te Ao mō te Manaaki i te Orokohanga: 1 Mahuru 2024
The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is celebrated on 1 September. The ecumenical Christian celebration of the Season of Creation is convened each year to pray and respond to the cry of Creation, between 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for Creation, and 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori | Māori Language Week – 14–21 Mahuru 2024 | 14–21 September 2024
Every year since 1975 New Zealand has marked Māori Language Week as a time for all New Zealanders to celebrate te reo Māori – the Māori language – and to use more Māori phrases in everyday life. In 2024, Māori Language Week runs from 14–21 September.
Social Justice Week: 8–14 September 2024 – Te Wiki o te Whai Tika: 8–14 Mahuru 2024
Caritas’ Social Justice Week 2024 is coming up and this year it runs from 8–14 September. During this week, Caritas invites you to join Catholic parishes and schools across New Zealand in exploring how we can give effect to peace and forgiveness in our lives. We have produced a range of resources for parishes and schools to help get involved with Social Justice week 2024.
‘How can we be a missionary synodal Church?’
At the end of this month I will be returning to Rome for the second session of the Synod on Synodality. Those who attended last year are required to be there again. It will be good to reconnect with people I met last year and with whom I spent the month in prayer, discernment and discussion. Fr Dennis Nacorda from the parish of Wairarapa is also attending.
News
Review of End of Life Choice Act – public submissions now open
Assisted dying – in the form of physician-assisted euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide – became legal in Aotearoa New Zealand three years ago on 7 November 2021.
That law stipulates there must be a review within three years of the practice coming into force and every five years after that.
Te Rōpu o Ngā Rangatahi o te Rūnanga o Ngā Pīhopa Katorika o Aotearoa
Representatives from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference National Council for Young People of Aotearoa met with the New Zealand bishops at the Home of Compassion in Wellington, 20–21 August.
The council, with representatives from each diocese, meets regularly with the bishops. Its role is to advise and advocate on behalf of young Catholics in Aotearoa New Zealand.
West Auckland parish priest Fr Mosese Tui appointed Archbishop of Samoa-Apia
Pope Francis has appointed Fr Mosese Vitolio Tui sdb – the parish priest of St Paul’s Parish in Massey in West Auckland – as the new Archbishop of Samoa-Apia.
International News
Synod on Synodality: Bishops launch regional workshops ahead of October meeting in Rome
Around the world, bishops together with the Catholic faithful of their dioceses in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa have been gearing up for the second session of the 2021–2024 Synod on Synodality to take place 2–27 October in Vatican City.
Five religions gather to celebrate fraternity at Paris Olympics
Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne, the Holy See’s special representative for the 2024 Paris Olympics, was the representatives of the five major religions involved in the Paris Olympics, at a significant interfaith ceremony held on Sunday 4 August outside Notre-Dame Cathedral, to highlight a message of universal fraternity.
Notre Dame Cathedral strikes gold with donation of Olympic bell
The bronze bell used for track and field competitions during the Paris Olympic Games will ring during every Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral when it reopens in December.
Diocesan News
Ngā Parirau | Wings – ‘Soaring with faith’
As the next meeting on synodality happens at the global level we need to do our best to ensure that those who spent time on prayer in putting forward their hopes and dreams for change.
Inspiring environmental leadership
“Hope has two beautiful daughters, Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” – Attributed to St Augustine
The Wellington Archdiocese Ecology, Justice and Peace commission’s Integral Ecology committee organised two workshops in early August to offer and lead people with creative initiatives and resources for celebrating the Season of Creation during September.
Understanding Te Tiriti from a Christian Perspective
When in 2023 Ōtari Parish was surveyed by their Parish Justice, Peace and Development group, the community made it known it wanted to gain a deeper understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This led to a recent offering to take part in a two-part video and discussion programme called ‘Belonging in this Land: Treaty Basics from a Christian Perspective’.
Features
Signature Choir: promoting Pacific music and culture
Wellington-based ecumenical-interfaith Signature Choir is achieving widespread national and international attention through performing and promoting Pacific music and culture.
Growing and sharing the love of Jesus Christ for all in a practical way
On 27 September hundreds of thousands of members in 153 countries round the world will celebrate the patronal feast of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
The Society as we know it was founded in Paris 1833 by Frederic Ozanam and his young friends – aged late teens and early twenties – as means to develop their faith.
Action is the antidote for eco-anxiety
Year 10 student at Sacred Heart College, Napier, Poppy McCaskey, crafted this article for the 2024 O’Shea Shield Junior Prepared Speech Competition, in which she was placed second in her category. Poppy’s article reflects the theme for O’Shea Shield 2024: Te Ahi Kā – ‘Sparks of Hope’. It also witnesses to the charism of her school, which draws on the Visitation of Mary.
Reflections
How does the Declaration on Human Dignity apply in Aotearoa New Zealand?
The Vatican’s top doctrinal office published a new Declaration, on 8 April 2924, on the theme of human dignity. Entitled Declaration Dignitas Infinita, on Human Dignity, the Declaration from the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, addresses a range of contemporary moral and social issues.
Gospel Reading: Sunday 1 September 2024 – Ko te Rongopai: Rātapu 1 Mahuru 2024
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Te Rātapu Rua tekau mā rua o te Wā Noa
Why do I still believe?
‘I no longer believe!’ The words were shouted. And the voice was angry.
But if the statement was meant to shock me, it didn’t. I simply asked the person to tell me what they no longer believed, and the following conversation unfolded.
Young Church
Action is the antidote for eco-anxiety
Year 10 student at Sacred Heart College, Napier, Poppy McCaskey, crafted this article for the 2024 O’Shea Shield Junior Prepared Speech Competition, in which she was placed second in her category. Poppy’s article reflects the theme for O’Shea Shield 2024: Te Ahi Kā – ‘Sparks of Hope’. It also witnesses to the charism of her school, which draws on the Visitation of Mary.
Suzanne Aubert Tertiary Scholarship 2025
The Sisters of Compassion invite applications for the Suzanne Aubert Tertiary Scholarship 2025. Applications are open to tertiary students with New Zealand citizenship, living within the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington or the Diocese of Palmerston North.
Students participate in Assumption Day Masses
Students across the dioceses took part in Masses for the Feast of the Assumption 15 August. Among them were students from Sacred Heart Primary School, Thorndon, who attended the parish Mass at their neighbouring Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
What's on
‘So much more than a meal’
Growing up in West Auckland and experiencing hardship firsthand, Kaira Mitchell developed a deep sense of empathy and understanding. As a support worker at the Compassion Soup Kitchen, she knows well the struggles of our whānau, the most vulnerable in our community.
Church Calendar
September: 1. Day of Prayer for Creation 7. Blessed Virgin Mary 8–14. Social Justice Week 9. St Peter Claver 21. St Matthew Apostle 27. St Vincent de Paul
Dates and events – what’s on
If you would like to list your parish and school events free on this page, please email welcom@wn.catholic.org.nz with event name, date, time, location and contact details. Sunday 8 September…