When I read the church fathers’ teaching about sin, I acknowledge the principles but interpret them a different way. Many women do this because feminine spirituality tends to be a little different, although complementary to the male model. Our spiritual paths are shaped by our biological roles. Most men achieve spiritual growth through information and structure. Read more
One benefit of bearing an unusual name is that anybody I meet who knew my father is liable to ask, “Are you any relation to Vaughan Roughan?” Though he was a primary school principal whose career was spent in Southland and Canterbury, his former pupils and colleagues are everywhere. “He was a nice man,” they Read more
The question in the headline implies that the expected answer is “no”, but as a former particle physicist, my response is “Why not?” Contrary to a common prejudice, a scientific perspective does not rule out miracles, and the event at Fatima is, in the view of many, particularly credible. As regards miracles in general, the Read more
Shortly after my ordination and assignment to Japan, an elderly Japanese priest told me about an experience he had as a young man sometime before World War II. A European bishop was visiting Tokyo, and the then-young priest was assigned to be his tour guide for a day. In the morning, they went to the Read more
When I met Pā Henare Tate in 1990 at his home marae, Motuti, on the north side of Hokianga Harbour, he told me a story about mullet. I was editor of New Zealand Geographic magazine, then only a year old. The 150th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti was coming up, and I decided to Read more
We have an intimate relationship with our phones. We sleep with them, eat with them and carry them in our pockets. We check them, on average, 47 times a day — 82 times if you’re between 18 and 24 years old, according to recent data. And we love them for good reason: They tell the Read more
To be Catholic in a post-Christian age is to suffer many misconceptions. One example is the idea of papal infallibility. Many assume the doctrine requires Catholics to hold that the Pope makes no mistakes. But the actual terms of papal infallibility is narrowly defined. So much so that it hardly ever applies. In fact, there Read more
Classically, both in the world and in our churches, we have seen despair as the ultimate, unforgivable sin. The simple notion was that neither God, nor anyone else, can save you if you simply give up, despair, make yourself impossible to reach. Most often in the popular mind this was applied to suicide. To die Read more
Church teaching comes as a “one size fits all” but at the same time, the Church recognises that God calls us as individuals. Through the sacraments, gospels and prayer, Jesus helps me to discern what is more life-giving and what is less life-giving. Ignatius of Loyola saw discernment as very important in spiritual life, and Read more
“A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system,” warns Pope Francis in his landmark environmental encyclical Laudato Si (“On Care for Our Common Home”). Indeed, the scientific consensus is very solid. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “97 percent or more of Read more