Is it a place of fire and brimstone, or wailing and gnashing of teeth? Is it a place that is simply an absence of God? Whatever the reality, the Catholic Church continues to hold to the idea of a place ...

Over the next two days, the Catholic Church honours a couple of great figures in Christian history: St Augustine and his mother, St Monica. St Augustine is often seen as a bit of a prodigal son — someone who strayed ...

Last week, Catholics in New Zealand celebrated the Feast of the Assumption, and last week’s episode of 15 Minutes with the Bishop was on that topic. This week, Bishop Patrick talks about holy days of obligation, of which the Assumption ...

August 15 marks the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the Church’s great Marian feasts. It is a cause for great celebration throughout the Catholic world, but especially in New Zealand, where it is the ...

After talking about pilgrimages in general last week, Bishop Patrick talks this week about a specific pilgrimage: World Youth Day. Started by Pope John Paul II and considered one of the late pontiff’s great legacies, this year’s World Youth Day ...

For centuries, Christians have visited holy sites in an attempt to grow closer to God and to people who lived close to God. From the Holy Land, where Jesus himself walked, talked, taught and performed miracles, to places like Lourdes ...

July 26 is the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the couple traditionally understood to be the parents of the Virgin Mary. In this week’s episode of 15 Minutes of the Bishop, Bishop Patrick Dunn and Gavin start with a ...

Last month, some parishes in Australia started to introduce the new English translation of the Mass. New Zealand was several months ahead, introducing the people’s parts of the new translation last November. Bishop Patrick Dunn talks about the implementation of ...

Scripture or Tradition? Tradition or Scripture? In the Catholic Church, it’s a case of both/and. In 15 Minutes with the Bishop this week, Bishop Patrick Dunn and Gavin talk about how Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church have ...

In previous episodes of 15 Minutes with the Bishop, we;ve covered things happening out in the world. In this week’s show, we get a little more personal, as Gavin talks with Bishop Patrick Dunn about the latter’s priestly vocation. How ...