It’s hard to find your soulmate in someone who doesn’t believe you have a soul. Recently on The Moth Radio Hour a young woman shared the story of her breakup with her boyfriend, a young man for whom she had deep feelings. The problem was that she, a person with a deep faith, a Mormon, struggled with Read more
When a New York, Jewish psychoanalyst who is, predictably, a political liberal, has her book shunned by the mainstream media, there has to be something very wrong with it. And you can see what the problem is just by reading the title: Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters. That the author, Read more
As David Marr reminded us in his 2012 Quarterly Essay, Political Animal: the Making of Tony Abbott, Abbott’s Catholicism was groomed by the highly charismatic and worldly Emmet Costello, the priest he met as a 16-year-old. It went on to flourish under the tutelage of Bob Santamaria. Abbott was and is on a mission from Read more
This is the time of year my Lutheran friends share photos of Reformation choirs and Martin Luther-themed socks on social media. Yet, to my Roman Catholic friends, the Reformation isn’t something to celebrate. In their eyes, our admiration for Martin Luther is as misguided as holding a big party in honour of one’s divorce. They Read more
In the one week, Australia’s human rights record made headlines in two quite different ways. First, the UN announced that Australia would be joining the Human Rights Council. Subsequently, the UN Human Rights Committee criticised Australia for ‘chronic non-compliance’ with the committee’s recommendations. Indeed, it reported that Australia’s non-compliance was ‘completely off the charts’. The dissonance of these two Read more
“Do parents have a say in when their teens start having sex?” asked a recent headline in the Lifestyle section of the Sydney Morning Herald. No, answered Kasey Edwards, mother of two daughters aged 8 and 3: As anyone who has ever been a teenager could attest, if a teenager really wants to have sex then they Read more
Jogging our memories, I’m sure we can recall the liturgical branding for the new translation of the Mass. “New words, deeper meaning, same Mass.” Initially prepared to go with the flow, after a little while I found the cognitive dissonance became too apparent. What we got were old words with foreign meanings and a Mass Read more
ROME – Two stories about Pope Francis over the last few days have elicited either praise or criticism, depending on one’s point of view, but also pivoting on a perception that’s actually questionable: To wit, that once again, this maverick pontiff is breaking the mold. The first story came on Thursday, when Francis spoke at Read more
Two words that are significant for me are “Covenant” and “Transfiguration.” Covenant in scripture is a binding vow of love, God’s promise to Abraham continuing through the Jewish Bible and coming to fulfilment in Christ Jesus. The history of our Church belongs in that covenant, the unfailing promise of love. Quite simply, God is in Read more
A few years ago, a Lutheran friend sent me a link to her favourite website: Lutheran Satire. The brainchild of a US Lutheran pastor, it focuses on Church humour from a Lutheran angle. The goal is catechesis through comedy, and no issue or religious leader is too sacred to poke. One of the site’s most Read more