The Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission’s Environment/Sustainability Committee will be releasing their parish programme God’s Earth: for all peoples and all generations on 5 June 2013 – World Environment Day.

The programme is an introduction to environmental issues – and their connection with social justice – in light of our Catholic faith.

Parishes are invited to use the 4-session DVD programme of prayer, reflection Catholic social teaching, video clips, activities and discussion in the next twelve month period. The Committee will provide any support needed.

This excellent programme, already trialled in three parishes, is recommended by Bishop Pat in the following letter………

Dear Parishioners of the Auckland Diocese

We are blessed to live in such a beautiful country with its forests, agricultural lands, beaches, birds and marine life. We have become increasingly conscious that as our resources are developed, whether they be minerals, oil, coal, fisheries, water or land, there are too often downsides in terms of pollution and environmental harm. The beauty and bounty of natural resources are God’s gifts to us for our contemplation and our wise use. They are given to us as a trust which we pass on to future generations.

Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, called us, in his inaugural Mass, to a vocation of being “protectors”, which means “protecting all of creation, the beauty of the created world…It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.”

Our Emeritus Pope Benedict reminded us in a 2007 message to priests, “Our Earth is talking to us and we must listen to it and decipher its message if we want to survive.” I therefore commend to you this environmental programme, GOD’S EARTH, so that together we may listen to the Earth and discern how we can better live out a true respect for the integrity of God’s creation.

Yours sincerely in Christ,
+ Patrick Dunn

Bishop of Auckland
World Environment Day, 5 June 2013

The Budget shows a slow and steady economic recovery, but that should not be the extent of our ambition. We need more urgent attention given to poverty and recovery of social wellbeing, says the Auckland Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace.

While the Government is moving towards implementation of some recommendations of the advisory group on Solutions to Child Poverty, there is little in the Budget that shows real commitment to change.  Despite pre- Budget announcements, the outcomes of work undertaken by the Ministerial Committee on Poverty since its establishment also remain unclear.  

We endorse the support provided to the most vulnerable New Zealanders through the Warm Up New Zealand and rheumatic fever programmes but other spending decisions are more difficult to reconcile. 

In particular: 

• a food-in-schools programme is missing in action and looks set to have passive Government involvement although further announcements are promised
• a whiteware procurement programme and pilot partnership for low cost loans get the green light but are somewhat underwhelming to address the needs of vulnerable New Zealanders. 

The Budget speaks of investment and wrap around, but the broader focus appears to be on welfare reform targeted at financial accountability rather than adequate support for the most vulnerable. Accountability has its place but we are concerned that greater cost savings for the Government rather than real change for those most in need will result. 

Housing provision catch-up

The Commission welcomes the positive initiatives to enlarge state houses and increase the stock after several years without any provision for new state houses. However the demand for affordable state rental housing is such that 500 new homes over two to three years must be seen as a minimum number.

The number of vacant state houses has been the subject of publicity recently, especially in South Auckland. The immediate renovation and re-letting of vacant houses should be undertaken to help ease the urgent demand while the new initiatives are being actioned. Even if they are not of the ideal size they would provide much better accommodation than is afforded by garages or overcrowded houses.

Improving housing affordability  

The Government’s acceptance of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations is also a positive step to tackle long-term housing inaffordability. The implementation will require sustained effort by Government and the Auckland Council. However this is unlikely to be the full answer after years of rampant increase of house values. Unless Government is prepared to impose specific restrictions, owning a house will continue to be beyond the reach of an increasing number of New Zealanders. An example would be a requirement that property developers must include a proportion of lower cost housing in every development above a certain size.

For further comment contact

Norman Elliot

Deputy Chair, Justice & Peace Commission, Catholic Diocese of Auckland

Phone  575 4943 (hm), 623 0402 (wk)  mobile: 021 040 4102

To download the MP3 for offline use, right-click here and choose “save link as”.

Daily prayer resources are available and the diocesan service will be held at St Mark’s Parish, Pakuranga on Friday evening at 7.30pm. All welcome. Supper will be served. Please invite your Christian friends.

Week of Prayer Poster 2013

Reflection and Prayer for Week of Christian Unity

The paper is owned by the Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn. It operates a website (www.nzcatholic.org.nz), a Twitter account (@nzcatholic) and a Facebook page.

The paper is published 25 times a year and has five staff.

The advertising manager’s primary goal is to grow advertising revenue.

The main advertising vehicle is the newspaper, but there is potential for growing website advertising.

The position requires integrity, perseverance and excellent communication.

The appointee is likely to be someone with experience of managing the advertising function and nurturing advertisers, and able to think innovatively and spot likely trends and opportunities.

Applicants should show evidence of initiative and drive, and value a personal approach in finding and maintaining advertising business.

The person appointed will need to understand and be comfortable with the work and mission of the Catholic Church.

The position is fulltime and is based in Auckland. Applicants must be New Zealand residents eligible to work in New Zealand.

A competitive salary package will be offered.

Applications should be sent to: editor@nzcatholic.org.nz or The Editor, PO Box 147000, Ponsonby, Auckland 1144.

For a full position description, visit www.nzcatholic.org.nz or www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz

Applications close on May 24.

Employment Application Form

Person Specification Advertising Manager NZ Catholic

Position Description Advertising Manager NZ Catholic

“We find it bizarre that what has been discarded is an understanding of marriage that has its origin in human nature and common to every culture, and that almost all references to husband and wife will be removed from legislation referencing marriage. We know many New Zealanders stand with us in this,” said Archbishop John Dew, President of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference.

“Marriage is the essential human institution that predates religion and state. It is a committed union between a man and a woman which has a natural orientation towards the procreation of new human life,” Archbishop Dew said.

“Marriage is founded on sexual difference and the traditional definition of marriage reflects this unique reality.

“This uniqueness requires a name and definition which distinguishes marriage from any other form of relationship,” he said.

“We have been assured that our religious freedom to teach and practice marriage according to our religious beliefs is protected and we will continue to ensure that this freedom is upheld.” Archbishop John Dew said.

For more information, including the submission made to Parliament from the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand, visit www.catholic.org.nz

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On behalf of the Bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful of Aotearoa New Zealand we send you our prayerful good wishes and congratulations on your election to the See of Peter.

You are someone chosen to be Bishop of Rome from a country far away; we too are very far away deep in the Southern Hemisphere. However we remain connected through prayer. We, along with the people of New Zealand, take this opportunity to assure you of our loyalty and prayerful support. As you asked for the prayers of those gathered in St Peter’s Square we felt that we were already united with you, and we will continue to support you in prayer.

We awoke to the news of your election here and people greeted the news with great joy. Many people, including leaders of other Christian Churches and other faiths have already expressed their hope and excitement in response to your choice of name, as they have recognised the witness you have shown in the spirit of St Francis, of a life of prayer, simplicity, humility and concern for the poor, marginalised and vulnerable. As Bishops we hope to reflect this and we pray that our church will grow even more in prayerfulness, solidarity, service and concern for the poor.

On behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and all the Catholic faithful of New Zealand, we assure you of our deep loyalty and our ongoing prayerful support as you pastor the Universal Church.

We have come to give thanks for the service of Benedict the 16^th, the 265^th Successor of Peter.

In the liturgy of Good Friday there is a series of Intercessions for the needs of the whole world.

One is for the Pope, and the prayer reads: Almighty and eternal God… in your love, protect the Pope you have chosen for us.   Under his leadership deepen our faith and make us better Christians.

Sometimes outside observers can have the idea that the election of a Pope is just like an election of some important political leader, just like a marathon race, from which some “winner”  eventually emerges. But we, as a people of faith, can never forget the promise of Jesus: I shall be with you always.   We know that his Holy Spirit will be the Guiding Force at the coming Conclave.

The Church in our time has its troubles – as it does in every age.

But it is sometimes important to remind ourselves of the line of remarkable Popes who have served as successors of St Peter in recent decades.

• Pius XII, the great teaching Pope of the 1940s and 1950s.
• John XXIII who, because of his age, was expected by some to be a caretaker Pope, but who revolutionised the Church by calling Vatican II.
• Paul VI, who brought Vatican II to completion.
• The smiling John Paul 1, who in his brief pontificate continued the work of the Council
• The charismatic John Paul II
• And now, Benedict XVI Each has brought unique gifts and great strengths to the See of St Peter.

Benedict XVI was elected in April 2005 to succeed the man he had served as one of his closest collaborators for twenty four years from 1981 onwards, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. When John Paul died in 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was Dean of the College of Cardinals, so he presided over both the funeral and the subsequent Conclave.   By then he was well known to all the cardinals and to most bishops, and because he was turning 78 at the time of the Conclave, and no doubt felt he was too old to be a serious contender for the papacy, he felt especially free to share with the cardinals his thoughts about the needs of the Church at that time.

When he was elected he must have thought deeply about the words Jesus spoke to Peter, which we have heard in tonight’s gospel reading:  When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will put a belt around you, and take you where you do not wish to go.

You will remember his media image at that time was of the Grand Inquisitor, the Great Enforcer of Doctrine, “God’s Rotweiller”.

Those who knew him personally knew that the “image” was an illusion, and that this shy, prayerful, courteous, gentle Bavarian genius would be the gentlest of shepherds and clearest of teachers.

Those who were expecting some great doctrinal purge were pleasantly surprised when on Christmas Day of his first year as Pope he issued his first encyclical – not on how Church life must get stricter, but on Christian love (Deus Caritas Est).

It is often claimed that the first encyclical of any new Pope is an important key to what priorities he will try to follow.

This encyclical opens with words from the First Letter of St John which we have just heard: Deus Caritas Est, God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in them. [1.John 4:16]

Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with a  Person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.  He wrote: “I wish in my first Encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others.”  

Pope Benedict, always a teacher, often shares intriguing historical or personal details which add colour to what he is trying to say.

In the first Encyclical, he notes that in the early 4^th century, the Emperor Julian [(d.363) tried to exterminate Christianity and reintroduce the old paganism.   Pope Benedict explains why the emperor acted this way:

As a child of six years, Julian witnessed the assassination of his father, brother and other family members by the guards of the imperial palace; rightly or wrongly, he blamed this brutal act on the Emperor Constantius, who passed himself off as an outstanding Christian.   The Christian faith was thus definitively discredited in his eyes.

But Julian wanted a new pagan religion which would foster love of God and neighbor.  He wrote that this was the sole aspect of Christianity which had impressed him.   He believed that was a key reason for the popularity of “the Galileans”.  [DCE, 24]

We will remember Pope Benedict for his encyclicals, his three books on Jesus of Nazareth, the talks on major occasions such as his visit to Westminster Hall in London, or World Youth Day in Sydney, but also at his regular Wednesday audiences in Rome, which attracted growing numbers year by year. There were 21 million over 8 years.

When elected Pope in 2005, he described himself as a simple humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord.

With that same humility he announced on 11 February his resignation from the See of Peter effective from 8pm this evening, Rome time, 8am tomorrow New Zealand time.

In a 2010 interview with the German journalist Peter Seewald he had said that “if a pope clearly realises that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.”

The only problem was that no one had done it voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294 !

As with John XXIII, so also with Benedict XVI,  there was temptation to see in both simply an old conservative, safe caretaker Pope who could hold the fort for a few years.   Yet each of these
“old conservatives” has contributed in dramatic way to help redefine the modern papacy, Pope Benedict most recently with resignation.

In his resignation announcement, he has stressed that he is not “leaving the Church”

In his final Wednesday audience, he said he would not be returning to life as a private individual, free to travel or give interviews wherever he chose.  Although retiring, he said he would not be walking away from the cross.

Instead, now as a Pope Emeritus: “I wish now to devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”  So this evening we give thanks to God for Pope Benedict XVI, the Pope whom God had chosen for His Church for these almost eight years, 2005-2013.

In his encyclical on Hope, Spe Salvi, Benedict notes that a distinguishing mark of Christians is the fact that they have a future. [SS 2].  None of us knows the details of what lies before us, but we do know Who is waiting to welcome us. We believe God is Love, And that God offers to each of us a new horizon and a decisive direction for our lives.

As Pope Benedict XVI now retires from an active ministry, we pray that God will continue to be his light and his strength as he embarks on this next stage in his life of service, now as Pope Emeritus.

 May God bless him always, and may God bless us too at this most significant moment in the long history of the holy Church of God.

St Patrick’s Cathedral in central Auckland will host a special Mass on Thursday, 28 February at 7.30pm, the evening of Pope Benedict’s last day in office.

This will be a solemn High Mass to give thanks for Pope Benedict’s pontificate, with prayers for him and for the Church as it begins the process of electing his successor.

Bishop Patrick Dunn, the Catholic Bishop of Auckland, will lead the celebration of Mass, and Catholics from all over the city, and greater Auckland, will be in attendance.

During the period between Popes, known as the “interregnum” or interval, also known as “sede vacante” or the empty chair, many things change in the Church.  At St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Pope’s framed photo and Coat of Arms will be removed and carried in procession from the cathedral.  Also in procession will be the sede vacante flag,  because Pope Benedict’s banner with his coat of arms can no longer be used.

During these few days the Vatican post office prepares and issues special postage stamps for use during this period, and the Pope’s coat of arms with the papal tiara over the crossed keys is replaced with a stylised umbrella.  Special commemorative coins are minted during this interregnum period, which are legal tender in all member states of the European Union.

“On this last day of his pontificate, we pray in a special way for Pope Benedict,” Bishop Dunn said.  “We are deeply grateful for his life of loving service to God and the Church, and remember with gratitude his outstanding gifts of intellect and clarity of thought and expression, his great heart and example of prayerfulness and humility.

“We pray, too, for God’s guidance to the members of the College of Cardinals in the coming days as the process begins to convene the conclave that will elect his successor.”

Ends

For more information, contact:

Lyndsay Freer, Media & Communications, Diocese of Auckland, 520 6520, 021 272 4895 Monsignor Bernard Kiely, Parish Priest of St Patrick’s Cathedral, 303 4509