Station XV: Episode 84 — Matrimony, Electioneering and Technology
The Pope conducting a mass wedding ceremony is usually grounds enough for big news, but when some of the couples are announced to have been cohabiting and having had children before tying the knot, it creates even more headlines. Lucy, James and Gavin are on the case, wrestling with the tricky issue, as well as looking at Archbishop John Dew’s reflection on the state of New Zealand politics, a willingness for more NZ victims of clerical sex abuse to come forward and Pope Francis’s latest first — an international Google Hangout with a group of young people. The show concludes with an uplifting story of grace under difficult circumstances. Enjoy the show.
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Station XV: Episode 82 — Victims, Venerable, Villains and Victors
In the July 2014 episode of The 15th Station, Lucy, James and Gavin venture from the sad to the joyous, the sacramental to the sporting, the saintly to the shady. Pope Francis’s meeting with sex abuse victims, the promotion of Baptism for students in Catholic schools and the Pope’s excommunication of the mafia are all covered in this show. The panel also covers the papal World Cup Final — between Benedict’s Germany and Francis’s Argentina — and discusses the efforts that may lead to New Zealand’s first saint. Learn more about the film How Far is Heaven by clicking here.
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Station XV: Episode 81 — Harmony, Celibacy, Inequality
Pope Francis has been grabbing headlines again this month, not only for his trip to Israel and Palestine, but also for his hosting of a prayer meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican. That leads this month’s episode, and Helen, James and Gavin also talk about inequality in New Zealand, the inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers trying to find a new home in Australia and about a group of women in Italy who want the Pope to drop the pesky celibacy rule that’s stopping them from being able to marry the priests they’ve fallen in love with. And if that’s not enough, we’ve got the Football World Cup, Christ the Redeemer and a betting agency to round out the show. Send us feedback at podcast@station15.co.nz
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Station XV: Episode 80 — Saints, popes, bishops, sisters and podcasters
What podcast in the past three weeks would be complete without discussion of “Four Popes Sunday” — the canonisation of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II by Pope Francis, with Pope Benedict on hand? Not this one, so Helen, James and Gavin lead with that momentous story, and continue the show with discussion of a bishops’ gathering in New Zealand, a meeting between the Vatican and some American religious sisters and an historic meeting of a New Zealand leader and Pope Francis. We also talk about drug trafficking. A typically diverse and entertaining show, we think you’ll find.
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Station XV: Episode 79 — Schools, saying sorry and standing strong
It’s Holy Week, and there are stories to challenge and inspire people in this month’s episode, as Lucy, James and Gavin talk about the challenge of providing a solid Catholic education, as well as the courage and witness of Pope Francis and martyred Dutch priest Fr Frans van der Lugt. The panel also discusses the new class of first-year seminarians in New Zealand, reflecting the increasing diversity of the Church here, and the singing religious sister who stunned judges on Italy’s version of The Voice with her remarkable talent. The Station 15 teams wishes everyone a happy and holy Easter. Until next month….
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Station XV: Episode 78 — Alarms, anniversaries and alcohol
It’s March 15 — so we’re in the week marking the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. The interview the Holy Father conducted recently is a topic for discussion, along with the latest statistics on Catholics in New Zealand — nominal and practising — and the promotion of Cardinal George Pell to head the Vatican’s new economic secretariat. James, Helen and Gavin also talk about a small New Zealand town fighting the departure of a group of religious sisters, as well as the drinking habits of those who live at the Vatican. Thanks for listening; tell your friends.
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Station XV: Episode 77 — Il Papa was on Rolling Stone
Pope Francis continues to be a media darling, with Rolling Stone magazine the latest publication to run a glowing piece on the Pontiff as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his election. But, as this article from The Week explains, there were quite a few errors and exaggerations in the article. Pope Francis has also been in the news with his appointment of his first group of new cardinals, and he’s also talked of the Internet — our medium of communicating with the world — is a “gift from God”. We find it hard to disagree with him. James, Shannon, Don and Gavin also talk about the death of a New Zealand bishop and a survey of Catholics in Germany and Switzerland. Enjoy the show.
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Station XV: Episode 76 — Holy Land, Catholic School, Religious House
We burst into the new year with the great news that Pope Francis, who was apparently a real drawcard in his first 10 months as leader of the world’s Catholics, will make a trip to the Holy Land and Jordan this year in the latest peace mission from a Pope. James, Lucy, Don and Gavin also talk about Catholic education — who it’s for and who it should be for — as well as the 6.6 million people who attended papal events since Pope Francis’s election, the expulsion of a priest from the Jesuits and the latest round of secularist antagonism, this time against the Ten Commandments. All in a busy episode of The 15th Station.
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Station XV: Episode 75 — Exhortations, Commendations and Affiliations
Pope Francis continues to dominate headlines around the world — and discussion on the Station 15 podcast network — with his naming as Time’s Person of the Year and the release of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. The Church in New Zealand has also been in the news, with the release of Census data about religious affiliation showing Catholics the largest Christian denomination for the first time as “no religion” continues to soar ahead, and the NZ bishops calling for people to be mindful of their attitude at Christmas, with love of neighbour taking precedence over consumerism. There’s also a bit of fun around Pope Francis’s other end-of-year awards. Happy Christmas from the team at The 15th Station.
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Station XV: Episode 74 — The Pope, the Cardinals and Lesus Christ
Is the Church about to become a democracy? And a democracy that has women cardinals, no less? Your answers to those questions will depend on which news sources you’ve been reading over the past few weeks. Pope Francis is surveying dioceses and parishes to get some insight into family life in preparation for next year’s synod on the topic, and there’s been conjecture he’ll appoint women cardinals at his first consistory in February. What we do know is that a Latin American cardinal thinks New Zealand should have a louder voice in Rome, a $20,000 bathtub isn’t a great idea and someone forgot to proofread some new Vatican coins. Join James, Don and Gavin for this month’s show.
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