If you want to understand a nation, listen to its national anthem. “The Star-Spangled Banner” urges Americans to look out for the flag that waves over “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” “La Marseillaise,” the anthem of republican France, calls its citizens to arms. But the UK’s national anthem is Read more
Two and a half years and billions of estimated infections into this pandemic, SARS-CoV-2’s visit has clearly turned into a permanent stay. Experts knew from early on that, for almost everyone, infection with this coronavirus would be inevitable. As James Hamblin memorably put it back in February 2020, “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus.” But Read more
Meet any group of Catholics today and within minutes someone will mention that their diocese or local area is undergoing a “re-organization”. Parishes are being combined, the ordained ministers being spread more thinly around communities, and the access to gathering for Eucharistic activity is being curtailed. The process is sometimes given an elegant name derived Read more
Do you remember the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000? Did it make any difference in your life at the time? Has it had any lasting impact on your life and faith? Preparation for the Great Jubilee began on Nov. 10, 1994, when Pope John Paul II issued his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (As Read more
Our hospices are facing a funding crisis. So, it was a huge disappointment when we learned that, despite billions of dollars being allocated to health, Budget 2022 offered no extra support for the 32 hospice services that offer palliative care to nearly 20,000 patients and their whānau every year. The lack of government recognition given Read more
Pentecost occurred in a locked upstairs room in downtown Jerusalem. Afraid, Mary and the apostles were hiding, but in complete contrast, the Holy Spirit directs the ‘door be opened’ and redirect the initial Church’s focus outward. New energy dawned with the birth of the Church and the Holy Spirit charged the Apostles and Mary to Read more
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone assures us that his decree barring U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving holy Communion has nothing to do with politics: “I assure you that my action here is purely pastoral, not political.” The assurance is laughable. As Melinda Henneberger pointed out in the Sacramento Bee, Cordileone’s claim is “a silly thing Read more
On May 2, someone leaked the first draft of a US Supreme Court decision proposing that the historic ruling in the case Roe v Wade be reversed. Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision, if adopted, would mean American women no longer had a constitutional right to abortion. The reaction was immediate and frenzied. The overwhelmingly left-liberal Read more
There is a real danger in NZ Politics that when you attack policy as racist to Māori we play the ‘is it racist’ game where everyone screams it is or isn’t, everyone goes back to their polarised corners, nothing progresses. We’ve done it with Police shootings, we’ve done it with Police taking photos of kids Read more
Christian Unity is more than a “nice to have” it is an essential element of those who confess their vocation to live like Christ. The scandal to the world is the disunification of the Christian churches. Ironically, in disunity, many find strength because they are “not like the others”. They enjoy the separation because it Read more