New Zealand Conservative

I've noticed in a couple of parish newsletters around NZ this week, that a pilgrimage to Medjugorje with Bishop Denis Browne of Hamilton is being advertised. As far as I know, the Vatican ban on official pilgrimages to Medjugorje is still in place. Considering that this is being advertised in parish bulletins and a bishop is leading the pilgrimage, I'd say that would count as being official. Not a good look. For more on Medjugorje, see Medjugorje, hit for six at last ~ NZ Conservative

On Thursday, the New Zealand Health Ministry told our Catholic Bishops that the swine flu restrictions were no longer necessary, despite the fact that we are still on Code Yellow. Had I not checked NZ Catholic's website, I would have had no idea that the restrictions were lifted, as their lifting didn't make quite the same impact in the news as the initial restrictions themselves. And no, I don't really check the NZ Catholic website particularly often, nor do I keep track of the Bishop's media releases, as they hardly ever make them. No mention at all that one of the restrictions is illegal by Church law as I documented in a previous post . While I am happy that the restrictions have been lifted, I am concerned that a precedent has been set that no one has challenged. Therefore, this sort of thing could happen again with the slightest of pretexts. A letter to the Vatican might be in order. Related Link: NZ bishops lift swine flu restrictions ~ NZ Catholic

A couple of weeks back, all the NZ media carried the story that the Catholic Church here was taking every precaution against the spread of swine flu by altering a number of common Mass practices. Those practices were: 1. Shaking hands at the Sign of Peace. 2. Sharing the Precious Blood to all communicants from the Chalice. 3. Communion on the tongue of the Body of Christ - communion is to be on the hand only. This weekend's NZ Catholic lauded such measures, especially since the Bishops "moved swiftly". The angst at the ban on reception on the tongue was mentioned, and so were some of the more sensational aspects of the conversation on this matter that had preceded the editorial on the NZ Catholic blog site: Being Frank. Here is where it gets interesting. Actions 1 & 2 are non-controversial. 1: There is no need to shake hands at the Sign of Peace; not to mention the fact that the Vatican is looking at moving this part of the Mass out of the Eucharistic prayer because...

The latest issue of Wel-com, the official Catholic newspaper of the Wellington and Palmerston North Dioceses, offers the spiritual journey of a self-described activist for change in the Church, which makes wonder, yet again, why this is even tolerated by the bishops, let alone allowed to be published. Moyra Pierce has written her journey in " Paul's conversion inspires reflection in Mt Victoria . It seems her opinion has not changed at all from the interview she gave two years ago to a Catholic nun on Ms Pierce's thesis on Generation X'ers in the Catholic Church. The wierdest thing she said, outside of the obvious heretical opinions, is that she didn't have children - she "reproduced". Must be one of those feminist terms. Summary of the highlights of the You-Tube interview: Was there a different kind of Catholicism emerging with Gen X? Asked only those who self-identified as Catholic [Didn't matter if they didn't go to church] . Post 65 children...

Last month I wrote a blog post wondering why a New Age meditation technique was being promoted in the local Catholic newspaper that is given out free to parishioners in the Wellington and Palmerston North Catholic Dioceses. This month's newspaper is even worse. I can see why there is a problem with editorial oversight with regards as to what gets published. The Editor has a very anti-Catholic framework that she is working from. In this month's editorial, Cecily McNeill attacks the Pope. In a way that I would expect a non-Catholic do so, such as the bunny from the Dominion Post , not an editor in charge of a Catholic newspaper. Some horrors have been perpetrated in the name of Christianity—the Crusades of the Middle Ages spring to mind—and Christianity has had a significant impact on our society. Our calendar comes from Pope Gregory XIII and uses the Anno Domini system of dating from the incarnation of Christ. Is it any wonder that the church is occasionally under attack pa...

Something about charging money to watch a concert in a Catholic Cathedral strikes me as very wrong. Asking for donations would be one thing as the group in question is registered as a charity. Maybe it's the denying entrance to those who do not pay, when there should never be a door charge to enter a place of God. Then there's the questionable concept of using the sacred place for a concert when it ought to be a place of prayer. Yet the concert has a very religious theme that could create a prayerful atmosphere ... I don't know, maybe someone can help here. The whole thing just strikes me as improper. Related Link: Festival Singers Next Concert - Stabat Mater

As some readers here know, I reverted back to the Catholic faith of my childhood a couple of years ago. Therefore, all of the shenanigans during the past 20 years or so that have been going on in Catholic churches in NZ have been somewhat of a huge surprise to me. The worst that I could really remember was the horrendous folk music that we sang, such as Kumaya and The Rivers of Babylon by Boney M, back in the days were I had no idea. Now, it's far worse. When I first came back, I was asked to attend a woman's retreat where the Enneagram was to be taught to the participants by a pair of nuns. Sounded a bit off, to me, and yes, upon researching it, I found the Enneagram is a form of New Age spiritualism that many Catholics have taken on. Having dabbled quite a bit myself in the New Age prior to coming back to the Faith, I wondered to myself: Why be Catholic if you are gong to play around with the New Age? Why not just be honest with yourself and leave the Catholic Churc...

It appears the recent letter to the editor from Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn is a forgery. Some-one has written the letter in his name. This is either an act of stupidity (it was fairly obvious the lie would be found out) or a deliberately diabolical act to generate more media attention. Probably the former, and right about now whoever did it needs to reflect on the dangers of sin, even when supposedly for a greater good. Unfortunately, Bishop Dunn did not take the opportunity to confirm the sentiment of the letter, and has naively said that he would not comment on issues in another diocese. I say unfortunately, because this issue is not restricted to the Wellington diocese. The bishops of New Zealand must now get together and make a broader statement on this issue, rather than leaving it as a matter for the diocese. It appears that if they don't, some-one will for them. Related Link: Church Probes Hoax Letter *Update 6:32PM - corrected Bishop Dunn's title. The dangers...

Both Archbishop Dew and Bishop Patrick Dunn have apologized for the actions of Father Gerard Burns in his attack on a Jewish monument yesterday. First a story from the Herald The Archbishop of Wellington has apologised for the actions of a clergyman who attacked a memorial to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. In a statement released yesterday, Archbishop John Dew moved to distance the church from Father Gerard Burns' actions during a Gaza conflict protest in the capital on Tuesday. "Father Burns was acting on his own initiative, and did not carry out his protest as a representative of the Catholic Church in New Zealand," Archbishop Dew said. "I offer an apology for Father Burns' actions and make this apology to all those who were offended at the desecration of the Rabin monument." Auckland's Catholic Bishop Patrick Dunn has also joined calls for Father Burns to apologise for desecrating the memorial to Mr Rabin. And also in the following letter...