NEWS
News from our member churches and the wider ecumenical movement, with our monthly roundup and a library of stories from ecumenical bodies around the world.
Methodists and Catholics complete a twelfth round of dialogue
The international commission for dialogue between Methodists and Roman Catholics, which was set up in 1967, has completed the twelfth round of its work.
Lutherans and Catholics look towards 2030
A delegation led by Bishop Henrik Stubkjær, president of the Lutheran World Federation, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on 1 October to look ahead to the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030.
A fellowship day for theological students in Suva
Students and communities of Pasifika Communities University in Suva joined students of the Pacific Regional Seminary, the Catholic seminary for the region, for their annual combined fellowship day in late September.
Catholic and Anglican bishops meet in Auckland
New Zealand’s Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops met in Auckland in September for their regular joint gathering, which takes place every year or two, and an Assistant Anglican Bishop from Polynesia joined them.
The Catholic Church and the WCC deepen their cooperation
The Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, first set up in 1965, met at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey from 1 to 3 September.
Pope Leo writes to the Methodist and Waldensian Synod
The Synod of the Union of Methodist and Waldensian Churches in Italy met in Torre Pellice, in Piedmont, from 22 to 26 August, and Pope Leo XIV sent the synod his good wishes.
A taste of unity at the Anglican Consultative Council
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The Christian Conference of Asia greets Asia’s Catholic bishops
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A liturgy tour of all six dioceses
At the bishops’ invitation, the American liturgist Fr Paul Turner, a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph in Missouri and a consultant to the Vatican, was due to visit all six New Zealand dioceses between 21 July and 8 August, starting in Hamilton and finishing in Christchurch.
Nominations open for the Delargey Awards
Nominations opened in July for the 2026 Delargey Awards, which have recognised people who serve young Catholics in Aotearoa New Zealand every two years since 2004.
Pope Leo receives a delegation from Constantinople
For the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo XIV received the delegation sent by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, keeping a long tradition of visits between the churches of Rome and Constantinople.
Asian church leaders call for a renewed ecumenical vision
More than 70 church and ecumenical leaders met in Chiang Mai from 31 May to 3 June for a Christian Conference of Asia consultation on ecumenism in Asia, and were joined by representatives of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and the Asia Evangelical Alliance.
A New Zealand response to Pope Leo’s letter on artificial intelligence
Bishop Richard Laurenson of Hamilton welcomed Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, which was published on 25 May and is about protecting the human person in an age of artificial intelligence.
Pope Leo’s message for Thy Kingdom Come
Thy Kingdom Come, the global prayer movement that runs from Ascension Day to Pentecost, began its 2026 novena on 14 May, and Pope Leo XIV sent its participants a video message of support.
Bishop Steve Lowe re-elected to lead the Catholic bishops
Meeting in Hamilton for one of their four gatherings of the year, New Zealand’s Catholic bishops elected Bishop Steve Lowe of Auckland to a second three-year term as president of the Bishops Conference.
Prison and hospital chaplains gather together
Catholic chaplains who serve in prisons and hospitals spent a weekend together at St Francis’ Friary in Auckland, the first time the two groups had met in this way.
Catholics and Reformed churches plan a fifth round of dialogue
Delegations of the Catholic Church and the World Communion of Reformed Churches met at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome on 24 April to plan a fifth round of international dialogue, as the fiftieth anniversary of the first dialogue report, The Presence of Christ in Church and World, approaches.
The Archbishop of Canterbury meets Pope Leo
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on 27 April, their first meeting since her installation in March, and the two prayed together in the Urban VIII Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.
Parishes pray for peace after Easter
Catholic parishes around New Zealand took up Pope Leo XIV’s Easter invitation to pray for peace by setting aside ten minutes after each Mass on the weekend of 11 and 12 April for a short liturgy of prayer.
A relic of St Carlo Acutis comes to New Zealand
A relic of St Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who was canonised in September 2025 and is often called the patron saint of the internet, was to tour New Zealand in June with an exhibition on eucharistic miracles.