Kua ara Te Karaiti!
He pono tonu, kua ara a Ia!
The season of Easter is a time for believers to reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is a time when we are reminded that Jesus chose compassion over condemnation, and love over hate.
It was only last month that our nation was brutally confronted by the consequences of hate, when 50 innocent lives were taken in the shootings at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.
Hate, racism and intolerance are not benign.
They have consequences. And sometimes those consequences are lethal.
What we say matters. What we do matters.
That is why, in this Easter season, we must recommit ourselves to the way of Christ.
We must reject hate and intolerance in all its forms.
We must choose compassion over condemnation.
We must choose love over hate.
May we all be reminded that the message of Easter is love.
May we all be renewed in sharing that love with our neighbours and with the world.
Kia tau ngā manaakitanga a te Atua ki a tātou katoa.
Me noda vata na veivakalougatataki mai vua na Kalou na tamada.
Archbishop Donald Tamihere
Te Pihopa o Aotearoa
Archbishop Philip Richardson
Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses
Archbishop Fereimi Cama
Archbishop of Polynesia
