Six months after Muhammed Yusuf had been sold, tortured and forced to watch as a friend died, he found himself back at the parched, dusty bus station where his ordeal began, facing the man who had made him a slave. Unembarrassed and unrepentant, the smuggler was still touting for business among the crowds flooding into Read more
“At the beginning of time, God spoke to us through Creation, says the Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Therefore, to study the universe with science, is an act of prayer, a way of encountering God.” However, to do so, “it is necessary to encounter God first as Father, as Abba, otherwise God cannot Read more
It’s always interesting to look at a date or a period of time and ask, “What happened on this day ten years ago? Or fifty or a hundred years ago?” Sometimes we can be surprised how quickly time has passed from a momentous event. And so, let’s play the game to the extremes, and ask: Read more
Jesus called his disciples to love their enemies, to be abundantly merciful, to repent and forgive, and to offer no violent resistance to those who do evil. But he also modeled nonviolence by actively confronting injustice and violence, as when he defied the Sabbath laws to heal the disabled, confronted unjust power at the Temple, Read more
Pacific youth suicide is complex: There is no single explanation as to why our young people choose to die by their own hands. It is complex too for those of us who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide. We are consumed by the question ‘Why?’ and caught in self-blame and tortuous Read more
As a teacher in our parish school, I often ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up. The most popular answer is a sports star (I’m not alone!). Veterinarian, scientist, and doctor are also frequently mentioned. Asking questions about why you’re here and what will make you happy is too often neglected. When planning for the Read more
It was an unusual way for a Vatican official to begin a talk at Oxford University’s shiny new school for public policy wonks: By commemorating a dead cardinal. And even more unusual when the official is a layman. After beginning with a joke that the Vatican had rather more thick walls and fewer windows than Read more
Fundamentalism in its multiple different expressions is a global reality. It is today vigorously alive at home and abroad, and Pope Francis is right: “Fundamentalism is a sickness that is in all religions”. Fundamentalism is a form of organised anger in reaction to the unsettling consequences of rapid social and religious change. The atmosphere is ripe Read more
If it takes a village to raise a child then it takes one to kill a teenager, as well, or at least that is the premise of Netflix’s provocative new series, “13 Reasons Why,” based on Jay Asher’s 2007 book of the same name. The show depicts the series of events that led to the Read more
St Peter Chanel was born on 12 July 1803, the fifth of eight children, in a farming family with a small-holding in south-eastern France. The area was still troubled by the political instability that followed the Revolution. That, plus the need to help on the farm, meant his primary schooling was rather fragmented. In his Read more