Whānau Mercy Ministries looks to future opportunities

Whānau Mercy Ministries has been entrusted with responsibility for continuing and further developing ministries previously conducted by the Congregation of Ngā Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand. The ministries operate as a charitable trust – Whānau Mercy Ministries Trust.

More than 60 people involved with Whānau Mercy Ministries attended the hui in Wellington last month, each bringing their own experience of Mercy and their hopes for Mercy to come.

Trustees had aimed to “create a shared moment of whanaungatanga, to understand our place in the emerging Church and to encourage bold thinking about new opportunities for Mercy in Aotearoa New Zealand. The hui delivered on all three, and then some”, stated a report by Gerald Scanlan of Whānau Mercy Ministries Trust.

Among the speakers at the hui were Susan Pascoe from Australia, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gábor Pintér and Auckland Diocese Vicar for Māori Manuel Beazley.

The speakers talked about “the impact of synodality and increasing lay governance on how the mission of the Church is inspired and led, as reflected in the structure and role of organisations like Whānau Mercy Ministries”.

“We are in the forefront of a new way of being Church and bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to a world hungry for mercy and longing for hope.”

Archbishop Pintér spoke on the theme of “Church and Finance”.

“The Church cannot and must not remain on the margins of financial life, commenting only from afar. To evangelise the world we inhabit, we must first understand it,” he said.  “This understanding is not complicity; it is the beginning of discernment.”

“For Catholic social teaching to be more than beautiful words, we must, as Pope Francis has said, go beyond exhortations,” Archbishop Pintér added. “We must learn to look at the workings of finance, to expose its weaknesses and to imagine concrete corrections. This is not about moralising markets. It is about infusing them with meaning.”

Speaking about lay governance in Church settings, the archbishop called for a “Catholic professionalism” which is efficient and compassionate, strategic and humble.

The report by Mr Scanlan stated that other speakers “led us more deeply into our foundational commitments to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and care for our common home. Both shape our identity and sense of purpose and both need our careful, knowledgeable and sustained attention”.

FULL STORY

Successful inaugural WMM Hui Whānau (Whānau Mercy Ministries)

Hui Whānau 2025 – Whanau Mercy Ministries (Whānau Mercy Ministries)

Archbishop Pintér address to Hui Whānau (Whānau Mercy Ministries)