Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn has been appointed president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) following a reshuffle after Wellington Cardinal John Dew’s three year term ended last month.
Cardinal Dew became the conference’s vice-president, replacing Dunedin Bishop Colin Campbell, while Palmerston North Bishop Charles Drennan took over Bishop Dunn’s position as secretary.
The death on February 12 of Christchurch Bishop Barry Jones left vacant two committee leadership positions — ecumenism, and Te Runanga o Te Hahi Katorika ki Aotearoa.
Cardinal Dew was appointed chairman of the committee on ecumenism, partly because he is
also on the Pontifical Council on Christian Unity.
The cardinal will also chair the conference’s financial committee. Bishop Dunn took over the role of Episcopal Deputy for Te Runanga, the national body that advises the bishops on the pastoral care and evangelisation of Maori.
Hamilton Bishop Stephen Lowe was appointed to the National Committee for Professional Standards. Bishops Drennan and Lowe were also appointed to sit on the board of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office.
“It’s really an important forum for the bishops to share concerns and responsibilities which affect the whole country beyond the boundary of their own diocese,” said Bishop Dunn.
Those concerns and responsibilities, he said, include the national seminary (Holy Cross) , liturgy, ecumenism, interfaith dialogue and financial matters.
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