Resources For All

Welcome. The resources below have been put together to support young people, their families and parishes to delve a little deeper into particular themes in response to requests from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops or schools. If you have resources of your own on particular themes please contact NCRS and we will be in touch.

The following were produced to fill a variety of requests over the past few years.

He Mea Hanga Mīharo ki tō te Atua Āhua (Wonderfully Made in God’s Image) is a revised framing document  to support the teaching of human sexuality education in Aotearoa New Zealand Catholic Schools. It is also a companion to the Having Life to the Full course.

This document is endorsed by the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference, and is the result of considerable dialogue and research. We believe it will be particularly useful to schools, and useful to all involved in this important area of education.

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Our understanding of human sexuality is a vital aspect of understanding ourselves and other people. Education and formation in this area is a privileged responsibility: the preciousness of a human person needs fostering, especially given the many social pressures and misconceptions encountered by young people today.

This guideline has been written to provide a context for whānau, Catholic schools and parishes to appreciate their roles in supporting children and young people to understand what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27) and how this affects the way we live.

It is sometimes said that Catholic Social Teaching is the best kept secret of the church, but how we treat others and what we do or don’t do regarding justice is an essential part ( action! ) of our faith.  The best place for up to date and New Zealand specific material is Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand https://caritas.org.nz/

Overview clips

  • Social Teaching (7.11 mins) Catholic Central – outlines 7 teachings
  • CST (3 mins) quick fire non-narrated outline written for students Trocaire
  • Catholic Social Teaching: called to charity and justice (10 mins) Breaking in the Habit Catholic social teaching is about not only doing charity when things go bad, but trying to prevent the injustice in the first place.
  • The Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching (5 mins) – breaks down the teachings Meegan

Catholic Social Teachings Aotearoa

Background of Catholic Social Teaching

Written Resources and Websites:

Lesson Plan Ideas and Learning Activities:

Putting CST into Action:

This is a wonderful project that was begun in 2017. In the spirit of Pope Francis asking us to share the Joy of the Gospel, those associated with The Catholic Institute (TCI – now Te Kupenga – Catholic Leadership Institute) were asked to share a personal encounter with God. Through reading these gifts others also chose to contribute. “Encountering the Divine” is the result thus far. It is a collection of simple yet powerful stories of meeting God in everyday life.

Contributors have bravely and generously given their permission for their reflection to be used with students, teachers and whānau – lessons, meetings, retreats, personal reflection etc.

And… we are also inviting others to contribute. We would love this to grow. If you choose to join the journey:

  • The story needs to be focused on a personal experience, or observation, of “God’s presence” or “Encounter with Jesus”
    • It must be experiential (An account of real events and actual personal impact – with names changed as appropriate.)
  • It needs to be quite short. (200 – 400 words)
  • The aim is for it to be very accessible. Non-academic (No overly BIG words, lists of references, or theological treatises.)
  • The director NCRS will be the editor – and will co-opt support as needed. (Nothing will be changed without the authors permission – publication is at the discretion of the editor.)
  • The story will be shared. (No remuneration, sorry, we’re doing this for love not $$$)
  • Submit to Colin MacLeod (Director NCRS)

The NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations has released a revised booklet to support promoting interfaith relations.

Hard copies have been sent to all Catholic secondary Schools to support their Year 12 World Religions unit and copies will also be available in dioceses and parishes after Easter in 2019.

In 2015 Pope Francis wrote an amazing letter to the world – Laudato Si’ – challenging us to face up to the harm we are doing to our Earth and to our responsibility of being better stewards of God’s creation. Here are some resources and links to help parishes and schools better engage with this letter.

Please, First Read the introduction information to these resources. Just note that the competition has now closed, but we absolutely welcome feedback.


PowerPoint Resources:


Video Clips:


Prayer:


Activities:


Gleanings from the Web: