She is 16 and at a friend’s party when she meets the boy. He says he loves her and there is no risk, guaranteed one hundred per cent. But he is wrong. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he panics. He says it’s not his. Everyone knows she sleeps around. She must get rid of Read more
For millions of children worldwide the adventures of attending school remain but a dream. Sadly, these children will never learn to read or write. They will not acquire computer skills. They will not experience singing in chorus, going on field trips, or playing at recess. Their classrooms will be sweatshops, farm fields, and battlefields. Their Read more
Support for growing New Zealand’s refugee quota has been swelling over the last six months. Every week a new commentator sees the global refugee crisis and our tiny intake and agrees that New Zealanders must do our bit. One of the very few people to publicly oppose an increase in New Zealand’s refugee quota is Read more
On a recent visit to India a few close friends sat around reminiscing about our college days; invariably the conversation moved to Sister Lucy, the unforgettable Principal of Loreto College. Sister Lucy epitomised everything brilliant about parochial education. She was incredibly strict but also unbelievably smart, witty, kind and a beautiful person who strove to Read more
The farce created by the Government’s hamfisted changes to the Health and Safety Reform Bill is a tragedy. The Pike River tragedy created a chance in a generation when seemingly everyone agreed that New Zealand’s appalling workplace safety record must change. The Government had the mandate and authority to say to all New Zealanders: you Read more
Last weekend, the Archdiocese of Sydney was blessed with two new priests – Fathers Thomas Stevens and Lewi Barakat. Ordinations are always an emotional occasion, but this particular Ordination Mass had a significant impact on me. In the weeks leading up to the Ordination, (then) Deacon Lewi had told me that the Ordination was not Read more
The seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II is a good reason to tell my dreadful experience of war – and in the end – how it led me to the Good Samaritan Sisters. On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. This brought Japan into World War II. At that time I Read more
Back in 2009, I ran a very large event in the Ha’apai Islands of Tonga. We managed to motivate over 3,000 people (from a total population of 4,500) to clean up the coastline and shipped 50 tonnes of rubbish to a location with a proper landfill to make an example of how a waste management Read more
Ten years ago this month, I became a Catholic. It happened in the attic of the guest house at Ealing Abbey. There was just me, a friend and a monk, and the operation took about an hour. Afterwards we went for cocktails. I started things as I meant to go on. I guess the two big Read more
Back in 2009, conservative theologian John Piper seemed to be criticising people for wasting time on social media when they should have been praying instead. It is ironic that he decided to use social media to say this. Sadly, Piper’s approach is echoed by most Christian commentary on the subject. Almost every Christian book I Read more