New resource to remember Parihaka

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

MEDIA RELEASE – fOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

23 October 2013

New resource to remember Parihaka

The Catholic social justice agency Caritas has prepared a resource booklet to help parishes, schools and groups reflect on the significance of the Parihaka story today.

Parihaka – on the western slopes of Taranaki – became a centre for non-violent resistance under the leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi from 1865. It continues today to inspire discussion and a collective response to injustice.

A Caritas delegation recently presented its new booklet Remembering Parihaka to the Parihaka community after consulting them over its preparation.

‘This is not a booklet just about Parihaka’s history,’ said Caritas Director Julianne Hickey, ‘but a justice and peace resource that enables us to reflect on the impact of injustice today,  in communities across the country – and strive for peace in the future.’

Regular meetings to discuss the issues of the day – both local and national – have taken place on the 18th and 19th of each month at Parihaka since the 1870s. They were only interrupted during the village’s occupation by government forces in the 1880s, following a destructive invasion to remove the community’s leaders and most of its men.

In response to a growing desire by Catholic parishes and schools to honour the memory of Parihaka, Caritas produced a 12-page booklet to help groups and individuals to pray and reflect on its story and non-violent resistance to injustice, in the light of Catholic social teaching. It is suitable for use at any time of the year.

Remembering Parihaka includes:
·         An introduction to the story of Parihaka
·         Some insights on Parihaka today
·         Reflections on the application of Catholic social teaching
·         Liturgical material
·         Links to the school curriculum to assist with a classroom discussion or school liturgy

Copies can be ordered from the Caritas office, or downloaded from the Caritas website www.caritas.org.nz

’Go, put your hands to the plough. Look not back. If any come with guns, be not afraid. If they smite you, smite not in return. If they rend you, be not discouraged. Another will take up the good work.’
- Te Whiti o Rongomai, Parihaka 1879

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is a member of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 165 Catholic aid, development and social justice agencies active in over 200 countries and territories.

ENDS.

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