archbishop john dew – NZ Catholic Newspaper

Pope Francis appoints new Bishop of Hamilton

Michael Otto — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 21:25:46 +0000

The Holy Father has appointed Fr Stephen Lowe as the next Bishop of the Hamilton Diocese. Bishop-Elect Stephen Lowe is the third Bishop of Hamilton and succeeds Bishop Denis Browne whose resignation has been accepted by the Holy Father. This is the first appointment by Pope Francis of a New Zealand Bishop.
“We are grateful that Bishop-Elect Stephen Lowe has accepted the call to this special ministry, and on behalf of all the New Zealand Bishops I express our support and welcome as he becomes part of our New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. We have no doubt that he will bring a valuable perspective to our discussions,” said Archbishop John Dew, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.
In 1996 Bishop-Elect Lowe was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Christchurch, serving in parishes throughout the Diocese. He has spent the last six years serving at Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland, the national Catholic Seminary, as Director of Formation.
Hearing of the announcement Bishop Browne said, “I am delighted that Hamilton will receive a Bishop with such pastoral sensitivities and expertise both of which Bishop-Elect Stephen has. His pastoral experience in parishes and his brilliant term as director of formation will all serve him well and he will be warmly welcomed to Hamilton Diocese.
“For myself looking back over nearly 38 years as a Bishop in three difference Dioceses, I am grateful for the wonderful support and loyalty that I have received from Clergy, Religious and the Laity.”
As news of his appointment was announced Bishop-Elect Stephen Lowe said “It has been a humbling and overwhelming experience to have been called to be the third Bishop of Hamilton. I look forward now to meeting the people, religious, deacons and priests of Hamilton Diocese and to work with and serve them as their Bishop. As I do so I am conscious of Bishop Denis Browne’s faithful service as bishop and I look forward to learning from him and the Diocesan family as I take up my new ministry.”
Archbishop John Dew said “I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Bishop Denis Browne for his dedicated service as Bishop of Hamilton for the last 20 years, and his valuable contribution to the Church in New Zealand since his ordination to the priesthood 52 years ago.”
“Bishop Denis has always approached his vocation as Bishop in a prayerful and faithful way. He always puts people first, and their needs are always at the forefront of his decisions.” Said Archbishop Dew.

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Defence Force struggles to find Catholic chaplains

Michael Otto — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 21:58:56 +0000

by MICHAEL OTTO The Principal Defence Force Chaplain says New Zealand’s military is “desperately short of Catholic chaplains”, and more are needed. Wellington-based Rev. Lance Lukin said there are no regular force Catholic chaplains, and there are only three Reserve Force chaplains. Some of the pastoral care of defence force personnel is being met through

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Church not fast, but must listen says NZ archbishop

NZ Catholic Staff — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 19:30:00 +0000

by NZ CATHOLIC staff with reports from
CNS
ROME — At the close of the 2014 Synod on the Family in Rome last month, New Zealand Archbishop John Dew said change can seem slow, but the Church must listen to the voices and lives of people who are hurting.echo $variable;

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NZ archbishop finds hope and excitement at synod

Michael Otto — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 02:22:24 +0000

VATICAN CITY (VaticanRadio) — New Zealand’s bishops were overwhelmed with the responses to the lineamenta (the questionnaire sent out before the Synod of Bishops on the Family), Archbishop John Dew told Vatican Radio on October 10.echo $variable;

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Catholics speak of being hurt by Church teaching

Rowena Orejana — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:14:22 +0000

by ROWENA OREJANA
WELLINGTON — New Zealand Catholics unable to live up to the Church’s teaching on remarriage,
divorce, cohabitation, contraception and same-sex unions felt “a strong sense of exclusion and hurt”, a survey conducted by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference has shown.echo $variable;

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Needs of children at heart of Wellington meeting

Michael Otto — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 20:00:43 +0000

by Fr THOMAS ROUSE WELLINGTON — Seven political party representatives were among a number of speakers at the Forum on Child Poverty in Wellington on August 5 at St Paul’s Cathedral. The event, attended by more than 1000 people, opened with a group of children from Holy Cross School, Miramar, singing songs. During the whakatau,

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Primary principals gather to ‘ignite the spirit’

Michael Otto — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 21:27:18 +0000

by ZITA SMITH WELLINGTON — The first NZ Catholic Primary Principals’ Conference in almost 20 years was held in Wellington in June. One hundred Catholic primary school principals gathered from June 26-27 for a conference called “Igniting the Spirit of Catholic Leadership”. The conference was the brainchild of outgoing NZ Catholic Primary Principals’ Association president

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NZ Bishops support appeal for global prayer vigil for Gaza

NZ Catholic Staff — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 22:59:30 +0000

by NZ CATHOLIC staff
WELLINGTON — The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference lent their support to the appeal for a global day of prayer and fasting for peace in Gaza.
In a letter to Pope Francis, the bishops drew the Pope’s attention to the request of the Father Raed, the parish priest of Holy Family Parish in Gaza “to convene a a vigil of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land, as you did for Syria”.

Palestinian Issa Abu Jabber, 18, of Bethlehem, West Bank, prays during Mass in the Church of St. Catherine July 27. (CNS/Debbie Hill)

The Bishops are also asking New Zealanders to pray unceasingly for lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. The Bishops also urge New Zealanders to the support the Caritas Humanitarian effort in Gaza – two ways that we can help from so far away.
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has provided an initial grant of $20,000 for humanitarian efforts in Gaza. These funds are the result of people’s generosity through the Caritas Gifts – Gifts of Peace programme. www.caritasgifts.org.nz

The bishops’ letter follows:

Your Holiness

It is with great sadness and anguish that we watch the terrible conflict in Gaza from faraway New Zealand.

Our sense of helplessness is relieved a little by constant prayer for the cessation of the current conflict and for a resolution of the longstanding issues which underlie it. But we pray in the comfort of a land that really only knows peace, and which is a long way from international conflicts. Knowledge of the appalling suffering in Gaza fills us with a sense of desperation and leads us to ask what else we can do to alleviate the suffering and help bring peace.

We are encouraging our people to support the work of Caritas in Gaza. We are urging them to pray, individually and together, for an end to the fighting and a true and lasting resolution. These are significant steps but still more is needed, and for those of us who live in peace there is an obligation to do everything possible to bring the gift of peace to others.

Holy Father, Gaza has been a prison for the last seven years. The blockade has destroyed the Gazan economy, and the same blockade now prevents people fleeing from Gaza to safety. The people cannot even exercise their right to become refugees by crossing the border to escape the fighting.

When you entered the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people by bringing President Mahmoud Abbas and President Shimon Peres together for prayer, it was an inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You stood with the two Presidents in a way that has never been seen before, and you continue to talk with them. We know you will use all the resources of the Holy See and the moral leadership inherent in your role to do everything possible to bring about a cessation of the fighting and true and lasting peace between the Palestinian people and Israel.

We respectfully draw your attention to the request of Father Raed, the parish priest of Holy Family Parish in Gaza who said: “I launch a humble appeal to Pope Francis: may you convene a vigil of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land, as you did for Syria. All the people who inhabit this land, the land of Jesus, are tired of living in fear and pain”. This prayer vigil is taking place in the countries close to Gaza, but the magnitude of the disaster is so great, that we ask if the Holy See could make this a global vigil.

We assure you of our prayerful support and that of the Church in New Zealand, and our loyalty as you continue to lead us to be authentic witnesses to the Gospel.

+John Dew
Archbishop of Wellington

+Patrick Dunn
Bishop of Auckland

+Charles Drennan
Bishop of Palmerston North

+Denis Browne
Bishop of Hamilton

+Colin Campbell
Bishop of Dunedin

+Barry Jones
Bishop of Christchurch

+Peter Cullinane
Emeritus Bishop of Palmerston North

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Bishops ask Sudanese government to remove charge of apostasy in its penal code

Rowena Orejana — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 23:10:45 +0000

by Rowena Orejana
WELLINGTON – New Zealand bishops have “strongly urged” the government of Sudan to remove the charge of apostasy in its penal code following the sentencing of Christian Sudanese mother, Meriam Ibrahim to 100 lashes and death.echo $variable;

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Church understanding spread

Rowena Orejana — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 22:00:35 +0000

by ROWENA OREJANA
WELLINGTON – On a cold wet night in Heretaunga, about 70 priests and parishioners from Stokes Valley, Heretaunga and Upper Hutt met with Archbishop John Dew to learn more about teachings
on what the Church is today.

People at the Upper Hutt gathering listen to Archbishop John Dew.

It was the last of the Archbishop’s talks called “Understanding Church”, presented in 11 parishes in the archdiocese.
Archbishop Dew said it was to share with people and to be present as a bishop. It is part of the teaching role of the bishop, to be there and to share fundamental documents to help us understand what the Church is.
He said that in his presentations he was amazed by people’s enthusiasm to learn more about their faith. “[I was struck by] the goodness of the people and the willingness of the people to be involved in the life of the Church, really. People are just very interested and want
to do the best for the Church,” he said.
Archbishop Dew started with prayers. “Because I’m trying to get everyone, whatever they do and whatever meetings, to have a reasonable time in prayer,” he said. He launched the presentation
with a look at two documents on the Church: Lumen Gentium and The Church in the Modern World.
He stressed the role of the baptised in bringing about God’s kingdom or reign in the world. “In The Church in the Modern World, I really stressed that we are called to read the signs of the times and to respond to whatever is going on in people’s lives, whether their joys,
their hopes, their difficulties, that the Church should be there,” he said.
The archbishop discussed the Greek words that describe the Church: kerygma, which is about proclaiming and sharing the faith, studying Scripture and the Church’s traditions; leitourgia,
from which comes liturgy and how we worship; and diakonia, which is about being of service to the Church and world.
Archbishop Dew also described the universal Church and the archdiocese’s role in it.
“We are committed to being disciples and choosing every day to make a disciple’s response. And we do that in our parishes. And I talked about being the people of God continuing the work of
Christ in its own area in collaboration with the society around us.”
Heretaunga parish priest Fr Ron Bennett said parishioners loved the talk. “It was very inspiring. He was just kind of sharing his vision for the Church, like he’s very positive and people took that on board. They were really positive about being Catholics and being a
Church,” he said. “It was about Easter, which is about new life. And also a new pastoral area. He explained the exciting things that Pope Francis is saying. It seems there’s an excitement in the air.”
Archbishop Dew ended with challenges from Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. “I think, probably, the biggest challenge that I tried to put to people was that
what we’re all called to, because we’re baptised and it is the baptised that makes the Church, ‘fascinate the world with the beauty of love and the freedom offered by the Gospel’. They are words from Pope Francis,” the archbishop said.
Archbishop Dew said he will discuss with the council of priests and the diocesan and pastoral councils the possibility of holding similar talks in the future.

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