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In a letter dated May 3 and addressed to his “dear brothers and sisters in Christ”, Bishop Dooley said that he was looking forward to returning after his time away “with new energy and focus”.

Referring to the two years since his ordination and installation as Bishop of Dunedin, Bishop Dooley wrote that he had “been inspired by all the ways that ministry takes place in Otago and Southland”.

“While there have been many blessings that come with being your bishop, it has been a particularly harrowing and testing time for me personally.”

Bishop Dooley added that: “During my time away, Fr Gerard Aynsley as the vicar-general will look after any responsibilities that would ordinarily be undertaken by the bishop.”

Bishop Dooley asked that people keep him in their prayers, as he would keep people in his.

Also in the letter, Bishop Dooley said it was “very heartening to hear of all the ways that priests and people of our diocese have discovered creative new ways to pray and live our Christian vocation during this time of Covid-19 lock down. For many it has been a time of reflection and an occasion of blessing, while also a challenging time for so many who face much uncertainty.”

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Easter Sunday became a chance to have a double celebration for members of the Polish community in Dunedin, with Mass celebrating the Resurrection of Christ being coupled with a significant birthday for an historic church.

A Mass is celebrated in the Mary Queen of Peace church in Broad Bay down the Otago Peninsula every third Sunday and that coincided with Easter Sunday this year on April 21.

The church at Broad Bay is no ordinary building, since it began life as the Church of St Hyacinth at Waihola to the south of Dunedin. About 40 Polish families arrived in the Allanton/Waihola area from the mid-1870s to work on building the railway line south from Dunedin. By the 1890s, they decided to build their own church and it was officially opened on April 16, 1899.

By 1948, most Polish families had dispersed from the area and, with a limited congregation remaining, the diocese decided to remove the church and transport it to Broad Bay to serve that area’s general congregation. It was also decided to rename it.

When the Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust was formed following the Otago 150th celebrations in 1998, the significance of the church’s origins was then rediscovered and efforts were made to promote its heritage. The building and a few other related items are the main tangible links with those early Polish settlers who came to New Zealand from the Kociewie region in North Poland.

So with the 120th birthday happening a few days before the Easter Sunday Mass, it was a chance to celebrate both events in appropriate Polish fashion.

Bishop Michael Dooley celebrated the Mass and it was a special occasion for him too, as he was about to complete
his first year as the Bishop of Dunedin on April 26.

Also attending the celebrations was the honorary Polish consul to the South Island, Winsome Dormer, from Christchurch.

In his homily, Bishop Dooley reportedly spoke about the people who had built the church and how important it had been to them. The church building was a uniting element in their lives.

After Mass, a morning tea was served with Swieconka, which is a Polish tradition where baskets of Easter foods are blessed along with Polish Easter cakes.

Blessings from the bishop were also bestowed on local parishioners Sam and Christine Neil, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

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The Vigil for Life Mass was organised through the efforts of two Dunedin Family Life International volunteers — Phillippa O’Neil and Ann-Maree Taylor. Both women
counsel and work with pregnant mothers and provide support before and after the birth.

The special event was to mark the beginning of the Lenten Prayer for Life action, in which people are asked to register online at fli.org.nz/lentenprayerforlife and make a prayer and fasting commitment to seek change in four key areas.

The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Michael Dooley with concelebrants Emeritus Bishop Colin Campbell, Msgr Vincent Walker, Fr Mervyn McGettigan and Fr Mervyn
Hanifin.

In his homily, Bishop Dooley noted that the evening’s Gospel
had a man running in eagerness to ask Jesus a question about how to obtain eternal life. Christ asks him about obeying the commandments, and the man says he has done so, but when it comes to getting rid of the burden of his possessions that is holding him back from a full life, he is unable to do so and walks sadly away.

Bishop Dooley commented that “the key message from Jesus is that he affirms life” and that “he wants people to have a full and free life”.

He went on to observe, “there is an energy that is present in our world and . . . has always been present that is the very opposite of this . . . and it is an energy that is a downward
spiral to death and oblivion”. Its presence could be seen in examples of war, torture, abuse, exploitation, abortion or euthanasia throughout the world.

He noted that, as Catholics, we have wished to express that key message of Christ of affirming “life”, but our message has been undermined by the sexual abuse crisis affecting
the Church. While the Church had been preaching one message, serious wrongdoing had been going on within the institution and attempts to protect the image of the Church
by hiding the wrongdoings have only created further harm.

So the claim of hypocrisy can be justly levelled at the Church. In a reference to a Gospel reading in recent weeks,
Bishop Dooley said that, as a Church, we need to remove the log from our own eye so that we are not blind and
deal honestly with the mistakes of past decades. He considered that it is essential to deal with the issues so that the Church could be credible again so that its message to
the world of affirming life is taken seriously.

At the end of Mass, Mrs Taylor spoke briefly about some of the aspects of the Lenten Prayer for Life initiative, before the invitation was made to the congregation to move through to a dining room for a light supper and the second part of the evening’s programme.

The second part involved the playing of a DVD movie called “un- Planned”. This dealt with the life story of American woman, Abby Johnston, who had two abortions herself
before becoming a director of a large Planned Parenthood abortion centre in the US. The story reveals her road
to Damascus moment and struggle as she rethought her attitudes and recognised that she could no longer support her previous views and decided to switch sides. She is now
a strong pro-life advocate.

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A South Korean, Jaewoo Joseph Lee, was ordained a priest for Dunedin diocese in a joyful ceremony at a Friday evening ordination Mass on November 16, before a large congregation at Immaculate Conception parish in Mosgiel.

On the front cover of the order of service booklet, there were depicted two figures in a friendly embrace with the caption “Hey, friend”. This was a link to the passage in John’s Gospel where Jesus is recorded as saying, “I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.” (John 15:15) This was part of the Gospel reading at the Mass.

It was a theme that Bishop Michael Dooley picked up on in his homily. He congratulated Deacon Lee — as he was at that stage of the ceremony — on drawing attention to this aspect of being a priest. Bishop Dooley pondered the question that some may ask as to why anyone would want to be a priest in today’s world.

He acknowledged Deacon Lee’s courage in responding to the call to be a priest. To be an effective priest involves some core aspects. It is firstly a matter of being a friend of Jesus, which is at the heart of our faith. That friendship gives us the guidelines by which to live Christian lives. Secondly, as a priest, Deacon Lee would have the opportunity of sharing that friendship of Jesus with others, so that they can be friends of Jesus too. Bishop Dooley thanked Deacon Lee for taking up this call to be Jesus’ friend and to be his priest.

The rite of ordination then followed, with an examination of the candidate, a promise of obedience to the bishop, the laying on of hands by Bishop Dooley and a full assembly of diocesan clergy plus some other visiting priests. That then led to the prayer of consecration.

Fr Lee was then clothed in his priestly garments of stole and chasuble, assisted by his sister Yeunyoung Lee from Korea and parish priest Fr Michael Hishon. That was then followed by Bishop Dooley anointing Fr Lee’s hands with the Oil of Chrism as a sign of his consecration to God and of his commission to preside at worship, particularly the Eucharist, and to sanctify people.

An aspect of Fr Lee’s cultural background was introduced after Communion. Hyunah Cho played a traditional Korean zither-like instrument called a Gayageum with a rendition of “Amazing Grace”. Then a combined choir of children from the two pastoral area primary schools of St Peter Chanel and St Mary’s sang “This Little Light of Mine”.

After the recessional hymn a lavish supper was supplied in the Holy Cross Centre.

Thanksgiving Mass 

Fr Lee celebrated his Thanksgiving Mass at the other parish of the Pastoral Area of Mosgiel and Green Island in St Peter Chanel church on the Saturday morning after his ordination.

Among the concelebrating priests was Fr Michael Hill, IC.

Fr Lee had spent six months with Fr Hill when he came to Dunedin after he was accepted as a candidate for priesthood for the diocese. Fr Hill mentored him on English pronunciation as well as various other aspects of becoming a priest. That relationship led Fr Lee to ask Fr Hill to provide the homily at the thanksgiving Mass.

Fr Hill obliged with a homily focused on the importance of service as a priest.

He noted the importance of a priest knowing the smell of his flock, the importance of being able to relate to his people and of being able to listen to his parishioners.

He also highlighted the choice of saints that were in the litany said at the Ordination Mass. He singled out certain ones that were significant in relation to the new priest’s role — those that were noted for their emphasis on helping the poor; others who were noted preachers such as St Dominic; those who helped the sick.

The recessional hymn was “Shine Jesus Shine”, which saw Fr Lee sway and move about in a joyous response to the music.

He is returning to Korea to spend a few weeks with family members before returning to the Dunedin diocese in December to take up whatever role he is given by Bishop Dooley.

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An opportunity to share High Tea with Bishop Michael Dooley proved attractive as about 100 Dunedin faithful gathered recently at a former Sisters of Mercy convent, Marinoto House, in the grounds of Mercy Hospital in Dunedin. 

The social event, held on September 30, was organised by the Nano Nagle Charitable Trust (NNCT) as a fundraising venture to aid their charitable work.

The NNCT rely on donations and some fundraising activities to support families who need help with payment of school fees, school uniforms, shoes, etc. Earlier this year, the NNCT raised funds by making and selling dozens of cheese rolls.

This was only the second time that the NNCT has held the High Tea event. The previous occasion was some four years ago when the majority of the New Zealand bishops were in Dunedin for a meeting.

Musical entertainment featured strongly from the 2pm start of this year’s event, which was filled to capacity. Two musicians from the St Joseph’s Cathedral music group commenced proceedings with a flute and piano performance.

They were followed by singers from St Peter Chanel School, led by their teacher Pesamino Tili. The school was originally staffed by Irish sisters of the Presentation Order, which was founded by Venerable Nano Nagle in Cork in the mid-1770s.

Former Kavanagh College student and Gore Gold Guitar award winner Kylie Price, and Sacred Heart parishioner Peter Moroney both demonstrated their musical talents at the event.

Bishop Dooley was interviewed by Sr Veronica Casey, PBVM, who heads the five member Dunedin-based trust. Speaking about his recent time in Rome, Bishop Dooley noted that he had found Pope Francis to be genuinely interested in people. He marvelled at the Pope’s capacity to meet and greet so many people during the course of a day.

Asked by Sr Veronica about the issue of sexual abuse in the Church in Dunedin, New Zealand and also overseas, Bishop Dooley said that while the revelations had been troubling, he intended to deal with the local matters honestly.

He indicated that was also the view of the rest of the New Zealand bishops in their dioceses. He believed that this would be a cleansing period for the universal Church and it would emerge stronger from it.

Then it was time for High Tea. The tables, set up in a couple of large downstairs lounges, were well supplied with sandwiches and cakes donated by local volunteers. Bishop Dooley socialised by moving around the rooms and meeting individuals and small groups.

The $20-a-head, three-hour event took a lot of behind-the-scenes organising and
voluntary contributions in terms of time and food to achieve a very successful fundraising goal. But while it represents a solid single sum, the NNCT relies on small and larger donations to achieve its aim of providing support to allow pupils in need who meet the criteria to go to Catholic schools.

In 2017, with funds raised totalling $28,352, the NNCT assisted 97 students mainly through paying attendance dues in several parts of New Zealand.

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What would you list as your main priorities as Bishop of Dunedin?

My main priority is pastoral care of the people of this diocese. An important aspect of this is pastoral care of the priests so that they can effectively minister the Gospel. We are blessed with parishes and schools that witness to Christ and I will strive to encourage them to continue on and find new ways to do this.

You are the third Bishop of Dunedin in a row to hail from Southland. What is it about Southland that it keeps producing such men of faith?

I am probably the wrong person to ask as I have never really dwelt on that question but perhaps the close connection to the land and sense of community can help to nurture a sense of the sacred and a desire to serve.

In your new life as a bishop, what will you miss about parish life?

I will miss the people who have been like another family for me. The daily and weekly connection in the Eucharist with parishioners has been a real source of grace for me. The sorrows of funerals, the joys of Baptisms and marriages have been special times of connection in faith with many different people.

According to media reports, among your hobbies are running marathons, building model steam engines and following thoroughbred horse racing. Do you expect you will be able to maintain these pastimes as bishop?

My days of running marathons may be over although I may have another half marathon in me. I hope to turnout for the Taieri running club when I am home on a Saturday so I definitely plan to keep running. My interest in engineering and appreciation of horses will surely remain but I will not a have great deal of time to spend on them. What is the most important thing you have learned from your predecessor Bishop Colin Campbell that prepares you for life as bishop? Bishop Colin is a very prayerful man and I am reminded that daily prayer is the most important way for me to keep on the right track and to keep the person of Jesus before me in my ministry.

What would you say to a young man interested in becoming a priest in your diocese?

I would encourage him to take the plunge and listen in prayer for God’s call to priesthood. It is not an easy life, it would be dishonest to say otherwise, but it is a very fulfilling life that provides great opportunities for growth and grace.

What can you tell people about how Dunedin diocese is meeting the challenge in terms of servicing diocesan debt for a diocese of its size?

A diocese has to live within its means otherwise increasing financial stress becomes the focus rather than the mission of the Gospel. As a diocese we have had to stop running at a deficit and decisions were made last year that achieved that.

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