Being an aid worker turned me into someone I never wanted to be. In between moments of rising to the challenge, giving until it hurt, were many moments of great selfishness, rashness, anger, borne out of a feeling that I was almost constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place. The idealism that none Read more
It was at the time of those terrible raids and terrorist allegations, during which any media coverage of the affair was very one-sided, and the Tuhoe were portrayed as a threat to national security. In light of this, the prospect of travelling into the heart of the Ureweras and staying with this group of people Read more
The heartbreaking photo of the little Syrian refugee boy washed up dead on the shore of Bodrum, Turkey strikingly illustrates the tragic plight of desperate refugees – mostly Syrian – fleeing for their lives from the Islamic State and other violent groups in the Middle East and Africa. The 3-year-old boy, named Aylan, along with Read more
One reason you can tell Pope Francis is a political and rhetorical genius is that he is able to tell the Christian story (arguably the most-told story in the Western world) as if it were new again — and not just new, but radical. Disruptive, even. He’s spent a lot of the last year turning Read more
One of the most arresting images published this year is of Pope Francis crossing a cobbled courtyard to enter the ornate Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. He wears the white papal vestments, accompanied by a cardinal, with a ceremonial Swiss guard nearby. He walks across red carpet from his car. But his conveyance is out of Read more
The compassion of the crowd can make you feel heartless for reserving comment until a reasonable question has been answered. When we began getting pictures of Syrians walking into Europe last week and our media became awash with the story, my heart was stuck on one question: why is this happening now? The Syrian civil Read more
Mention abortion and a lot of people metaphorically block their ears and start humming loudly. At the very sight of the word in this column, some readers will probably turn the page and move on. But this is an issue that refuses to go away. It was re-ignited last week when Hillary Kieft of Stratford Read more
“Cracks in the Sidewalk” by Tony Magliano. Eastern Christian Publications (Fairfax, Va., 2015). 28 pp., $9.95. Tony Magliano, best known as an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist, enters the children’s book genre with “Cracks in the Sidewalk.” In it, Magliano stays true to his vocation by instilling the seeds of social justice, “sharing, Read more
The British parliament is ready to discuss euthanasia very soon. Even Lord Carey, the retired Archbishop of Canterbury finds merit in the argument for voluntary euthanasia. Other nations are already committed. I It’s clear that New Zealand will one day vote in a voluntary euthanasia law. But the ‘slippery slope’ from voluntary euthanasia to non-voluntary Read more
Is New Zealand part of the refugee problem or the solution? For decades New Zealand has been a willing participant in wars and interventions in the Middle East, which have been central in causing the current refugee crisis. Why, then, does this country continue to refuse to play a tiny part in responding to the Read more