Archbishop of Wellington
WelCom February/March 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
This edition of WelCom marks the end of the publication of this magazine as a collaboration between the Archdiocese of Wellington and the Diocese of Palmerston North. We are both aware of the rich heritage of this newspaper, firstly for the Archdiocese of Wellington and then latterly as a collaboration with the Diocese of Palmerston North.
We both recognise that communicating with our communities is an important aspect of Church life and evangelisation. WelCom has always aimed to be both news of what is going on in the dioceses and also the Church in the world. It has endeavoured to educate people in faith, to provide analysis of Church teachings and highlight the various aspects of Catholic social teaching. It has been a fine publication and we are now looking at how we might be able to achieve these aims in a different way.
One of the realities that both of us have had to face in our dioceses is the financial challenges of living within our means. We are both facing deficit situations in our budgets and as a result we have had to look at what we are spending and where we can make savings so that we can manage our resources. This is a painful process and for both of us has meant reductions in our staffing and in other aspects of our spending. One of these relates to the production of WelCom. As you know it has been produced ten months of the year and there are significant expenses associated with this. Ultimately, we have decided this is not sustainable financially in its current form and so we have made the difficult decision to bring the publication to an end.
Over the coming year we will work to see how we will communicate within our own dioceses while also looking at the other forms of communication that are available to us. One of the key ways will be through the CathNews website, the responsibility for which the New Zealand Catholic Bishops have taken over. This will be a place for twice weekly news about the Church in New Zealand and the world. It will also endeavour to provide resources for spiritual growth and nourishment and for reflection. We know that there are many Catholic resources available but we do hope that CathNews will be a place that New Zealand Catholics will find helpful for connecting and being supported in their faith experience and knowledge.
We want to thank Annette Scullion for her fine work as the editor of WelCom for these last 10 years. It is not an easy task to put together the last edition of a paper. Annette has edited this paper so well for all these years and we are grateful for her work and the way she has brought this ministry to a conclusion.
A paper like this has relied on many people providing information and contributions. We have been very fortunate for all the people over the years who have done this and whose contributions have been stimulating, challenging and heartwarming. It has been a powerful expression of faith and helping your brothers and sisters to understand more deeply their faith and how it relates to the world. We have also been most fortunate to have had the generous support of our many loyal advertisers over several years, whose regular presence and contributions helped to develop and grow the publication from its beginnings over 40 years ago to what it has become today.
We live in times of much change and this is an example of another change for us. We know that WelCom has been very much appreciated, and many people will be disappointed that it is not continuing. Our hope is that we will find new ways of communicating about the faith and our local diocesan news, and that Catholic people will continue to strive to be updated and grow in their knowledge and understanding of their faith.
Please continue to pray for the work and mission of our Church in our respective dioceses and in our country. Please be generous in your support of each of our dioceses so that we can do what we need so as to be a Church that is able to carry out the mission of Christ in our various contexts.
God’s blessings and peace to you.
See WelCom – a look back.
See He Hīkoi Whakapono: A Journey of Faith – February 2017 – December 2024