Let’s think about this. Being anti-abortion and being pro-life are in effect, not the same thing. The first is negative and confrontational, while the second is positive and pro-active. Which is likely to work? I’m not dismissing the way we feel about the first. Abortion is always a tragedy. There may be some women for Read more
I’m voting no on the End of Life Choice (EOLC) referendum. I have many concerns about this legislation, including around the technical aspects and operation of the law. But I’m also very concerned about its impact on the vulnerable and marginalised in our society. Here are my top four reasons. 1. It devalues and risks Read more
After having been freed from jail in April when Australia’s High Court ruled unanimously he never should have been convicted of child sexual abuse in the first place, and after watching his erstwhile Vatican archenemy not just fall but plummet from grace last month, Cardinal George Pell completed his comeback tour Oct. 12 with a Read more
I spent the early months of the coronavirus pandemic feeling desperately claustrophobic. Quarantined in a one-bedroom apartment in New York, I would sometimes imagine my fire escape was a creaky porch in the woods somewhere as I sat outside in the early evenings, listening to my neighbours’ cheer and bang pots for the essential workers Read more
I am not writing to tell you how to vote in the binding referendum on the End of Life Choice Act, but I hope I can be of some help so you are better informed about the Act. Firstly, though, I want to help you think about the concepts of justice, love, compassion, mercy and Read more
There are many aspects to reform in the church. Different people and different reform groups, have their own take on what, or who, needs reform the most urgently. I must admit the recent article by Antonio Spadaro on Pope Francis has prompted me to think more about it.[1] I would like to share some of Read more
“Fratelli Tutti” the new papal encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, is an important teaching document that must be read by anyone who wants to know where Pope Francis is coming from. Through the centuries, popes have written letters or encyclicals on important issues, sometimes addressed to bishops, other times to all Catholics, more recently Read more
Arguably one of the most revealing public debates taking place in New Zealand over the last week was one on Newshub Nation, between Dr Sinead Donnelly and David Seymour. Donnelly is a medical specialist with extensive experience of palliative care and dying people in four countries, and a Senior Lecturer at Otago University Wellington debated Read more
According to much of the journalistic commentary, Pope Francis has just issued an encyclical on economics. Reuters, the New York Post, MSN…, the list goes on. All have similar headlines along the lines of: “Pope says trickle-down policies fail society” or “Pope says free market has failed in the pandemic”. Some of the headlines are Read more
Pope Francis’s new encyclical Fratelli tutti touches on many issues relevant to national and international economic policy. These will generate considerable debate and, given the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, deserve consideration. The majority of the almost 200 pages focus on issues that go beyond economics and economic policy. The Pope makes many valuable Read more