New Zealand Conservative

I really shouldn't read Wel-com, the official newspaper of the Catholic Dioceses of Wellington and Palmerston North. Not only are many of their articles heretical (like this recent one about the priesthood ), but they give an insight into the workings of the Dioceses that is frankly, depressing. The impression I get is that Wellington and Palmerston North do not agree with Pope Benedict on anything, and whatever direction the Holy Father is trying to move the universal Church, they are right there actively undermining him in this tiny section of the globe. Communion on the tongue? Icky . While as addition of Maori chanting to the elevation of the host, never mind that adding or removing words from the liturgy is expressly forbidden - yes, let's go for it, because it highlights our country's difference from the rest of the world! The karanga takes the place of the traditional ringing of the bells at consecration. The caller rises to proclaim the call: ‘Haere mai e Hehu e…...

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...

Many times when I go through periods of silence online, I end up doing a lot of reading. Here is a smattering of that reading, I thought I would share with everyone. Obama's Unholy War Against Christianity, Not Islam ~ American Spectator, George Neumayr Liberals are far more tolerant of Islam than of Christianity. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ German Catholics Under the Iron Fist; Bismarck and the Kulturkampf ~ Catholic Answers, This Rock, Matthew E. Bunson A fascinating article on the persecution of the Church during the post-Enlightenment period, and pre-Nazi Germany. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ The Question of Suffering, the Response of the Cross ~ Ignatius Insight, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger I think I was attracted to this article because of the discussion on the problem of evil, why God allows suffering on M&M . I feel unable to address all the issues involved, but will quote the Pope when he said in the above linked article: Anyone who really wanted to get rid of suffering would have to get rid ...

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...

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...