The year was 1995, Bishop Dunn's first (school) year as the Catholic Bishop of Auckland. As-a-matter-of-factly he addressed St Peter's Form 7 class. His message however, was a breath of fresh air.
12 years down the track (he was appointed on 24.12.94), his message remains clear and get straight to the heart of the issue.
I quote from the Weekend Herald, because it's not in the official media release on Catholic NZ's website....
"A society that fails to esteem the heritage upon which its very foundations and way of life are based loses its way. It becomes one without a sense of identity, definition or direction, where people are vulnerable to passing ideologies, and political persuasions."
"In the Auckland CBD a few cute angels hover over Queen Street, but the city's flagship Aotea Square displays not a trace to signal that Christmas is here. Go to Sydney if you want to see what Christmas means" (Photo of Christmas Tree at GPO, from flickr)
Ah.. the Pohutukawa tree shot was taken on Rangitoto island.
