We can never truly understand another’s experience of dying, or understand what happens psychically, spiritually, physically and emotionally when a person is close to death. An incredibly subjective experience, we can only make guesses as to what being in that ‘twilight zone’ of hovering between life and death might actually be like. When I worked Read more
An Israeli man has petitioned the Haifa Magistrate’s Court for a restraining order against God, claiming the Almighty has been particularly unkind to him. The petitioner noted that he had tried to obtain the restraining order from police for the past three years but that police had merely sent a patrol car to his home Read more
Dad’s face was gaunt, with skin hugging his high cheekbones and gray stubble enveloping his chin and upper lip. His bony shoulders poked out from a baggy blue-plaid hospital gown, and his hands shook when he tried to raise them. Just a month ago, we had been celebrating my birthday at a hibachi restaurant, where Read more
British comedian, actor and writer Stephen Fry has a great intellect – no doubt. His intelligence, wit and extraordinary life were clearly displayed during an interview broadcast recently on the ABC’s Compass program. When asked what he would say to God if he happened to get to the pearly gates, Fry, a declared atheist, didn’t Read more
Job did. Jesus did, too. Sooner or later, we all do.Life pushes us to the brink and we’re left hanging over the cliff with one hand grasping a clump of grass and looking down at the abyss. Despair clutches our throat and what’s left of our heart cries out to a silent God. Our only Read more
A controversial end-of-life protocol is to be abolished in Britain following an independent review that found numerous cases of abuse and suffering among dying patients. The report on the Liverpool Care Pathway echoed concerns raised by Catholic physicians and by Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, who said doctors were being asked “to make a definitive Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has for the second time in two months appealed for the international community to send aid to the suffering people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The eastern part of the African nation is being convulsed by a second wave of violence and spreading hunger, leading the Pope to describe the suffering Read more
The Church in England is losing the fight against secularism. With the opponents of the Church gaining the upper hand we have to ask if Catholics are well- trained and strong enough to fight back. We are outnumbered and, at best, considered superstitious and irrelevant – at worst, a danger to society. In such circumstances Read more
The Governor of Tokyo suggested that Divine punishment was the cause of both the earthquake and subsequent tsunami which have devastated Japan, caused the deaths of thousands and the suffering of an entire nation. He “took back” his comments because he said that in making them, he failed to take into account the “feeling of the victims.” Read more
Pope Benedict admitted to asking himself why so many children had to suffer in natural disasters such as the Japanese earthquake. The admission came on a television programme the pontiff participated in. Pope Benedict went on to say “We don’t have the answers, but we know that Jesus suffered as innocent children suffer.” The pope’s comments on Read more