When we were young, no one in our house was allowed to swear. Except Dad, of course. But his oaths were limited to “Damn” and “Hell.” We thought these words very daring and wondered if they were okay with God. On the other hand, Dad could yell at us, “I’ll thrash ye tae an inch Read more
A number of people close to Francis have been looking forward eagerly to a book out this week in Italy that is sure to lay to rest the myth that somehow, he lacks the philosophical and theological ballast to be pope. Massimo Borghesi’s dazzling ‘intellectual biography’ of Jorge Mario Bergoglio shows that this criticism – Read more
Prime Minister, Ms Jacinda Ardern repeatedly says the Labour-led Government will be measured by the way it treats its most vulnerable. Right to Life makes no apology for speaking up on behalf of women and the New Zealand’s most vulnerable; the unborn. It speaks for the authentic feminist position, namely to oppose abortion, which is violence Read more
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd took the occasion of his triumphant visits to Cuba and the United States to refer to His Holiness as “the perfect 19th-century pope”, largely because he seems disinterested in creating female priests. In her piece, Dowd’s assertions often lack context and the column itself is not particularly interesting, but it was Read more
To be honest, I’m disappointed. “Reason to Hope”, the third Global Atheist Convention scheduled for Melbourne in February 2018, has been cancelled because of “lack of interest” (according to my sources). The conference was to be headlined by Sir Salman Rushdie, the highly esteemed – one might even say revered – novelist. In 1989 the Iranian cleric Ayatollah Khomeini Read more
A hundred years ago, Catholics were not interested in celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, except to remember how a bunch of reformers led people astray. How times have changed! This year, Catholics, led by Pope Francis, are celebrating the Reformation with their fellow Christians. However, it is important that we not simply Read more
A Hollywood brushfire about sexual misconduct by producer Harvey Weinstein has become a raging forest fire which has jumped the Atlantic. Obviously, criminal allegations have to be proven, but apologies and obscure admissions of guilt show that the flames are spreading far and wide. After Weinstein, other Hollywood figures, including Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, have Read more
If you had been told thirty years ago that Australia would create the least asylum seeker friendly institutional arrangements in the world, you would not have been believed. In 1992 we introduced a system of indefinite mandatory detention for asylum seekers who arrive by boat. Since that time, we have accepted the idea that certain Read more
There is a joke that my husband and I revisit with much pleasure. It concerns two elderly men who had memory loss. One said to his friend, “At last I’ve found the solution! I’m going to a wonderful memory school. They give you strategies you can put in place to remember things.” The other said, Read more
Remember the game of chicken? It’s a foolishly high-stakes challenge in which two drivers risking death, drive on a collision course towards each other until one of the drivers chooses to swerve away. Since neither driver wants to be called “chicken,” meaning coward, they both push the decision to swerve away to the last possible Read more