Sebastian Flyte, his body pierced by a variety of wines, leans in through the open window of Charles Ryder’s college rooms and is violently sick. If only Zac Guildford had been born a fictional aristocrat. Then he could have quaffed and chundered for New Zealand, strolled around with a disobedient teddy bear and generally had Read more
All is connected – a vast intricate web of relationships in three dimensions. If one strand or knot is disturbed or damaged, the repercussions spread out in every direction, in time and space. Do we have the wisdom, the knowledge, the experience even to understand what we have set in motion, much less how to Read more
Kiwi golf caddie Steve Williams recently offered one of the great non-apologies for his racist rant about Tiger Woods. As weasely behaviour goes, this was truly award-winning material. Many are the shapes and sizes of the quality non-apology. But if it happened you were genuinely stuck for a good example, it would be hard to Read more
Quick! Think Christchurch. What image comes to mind? It will be different for us all, but they’ll be some common ones. The Avon, the Chalice in the Square, tree-lined streets, trams, the Port Hills. Perhaps, understandably, it might be a picture of quake damage. But most common of all is likely to be the Cathedral, Read more
Identity theft is a major crime around the world. It usually involves stealing personal details: name, age, address, social security details; banking information and the like. In a strangely analogous way, there is concern growing that forces mysterious may even be stealing our Catholic identity! If we had to report such a theft, how would Read more
Police statistics showing a drop in family violence offences don’t square with overloaded courts and the number of victims being treated at hospitals, the Principal Family Court Judge said. Judge Peter Boshier questioned police statistics which show recorded family violence offences reversed an upwards trend to drop by 3.1 per cent to 52,408 in 2010-11. Read more
The following is from the text of Fr Frank Brennan SJ’s speech ‘Principles for a Coherent Refugee and Migration Policy’, presented to the Society of Independent Scholars, National Library of Australia, 3 November 2011. In 2009, I was privileged to chair the National Human Rights Consultation Committee. During that inquiry we commissioned some very detailed research Read more
Election times are almost with us. Beware of “millennial cargo cult” politicians! Why the strange language? Well, it aptly describes a dangerous type of politician and political policy. Millenarian cults are social movements common throughout history. They proclaim for devoted believers the destructive end of one era and the dramatic coming of another more perfect Read more
The All Blacks are heroes but the Black Caps are zeroes – isn’t it time the NZC showed some true leadership, asks Tony Smith. Close to half a million people turned out to parades in the three main centres after the All Blacks’ broke their 24-year Rugby World Cup drought. They basked not only in Read more
Every year, hundreds of young Catholic women graduate from universities, graduate programs in religion, divinity schools and seminaries. Many of them go on to be theologians, chaplains, nonprofit leaders, advocates, activists and social workers doing outreach with the homeless, the incarcerated and victims of domestic violence. Their work is not only high-risk, it is often Read more