Columns

  • The stigma of suicide

    Oct 22, 2015

    Recently I read, in succession, three books on suicide, each written by a mother who had lost one of her children to suicide.

  • The last pope?

    Oct 21, 2015

    Some time ago, I had a rather interesting conversation with a conservative Catholic, who was disturbed with the direction the Church was heading under the Bishop of Rome, Francis.

  • Innocence, complexity, and sanctity

    Oct 15, 2015

    Some years ago, I officiated at a wedding. As the officiating priest, I was invited to the reception and dance that followed upon the church service.

  • When Santa comes to town early...

    Oct 14, 2015

    Santa has come early this year. At least it must seem like it for the large MultiNational Corporations (MNCs), the new economic ‘rulers of the world.’

  • Caring for our soul

    Oct 08, 2015

    What does it profit you if you gain the whole world but suffer the loss of your own soul? Jesus taught that and, I suspect, we generally don’t grasp the full range of its meaning.

  • Working for change in apocalyptic times

    Oct 07, 2015

    The recent smog has alarmed many with near apocalyptic scenes — a thick curtain hanging from the sky, blocking out the horizon.

  • New models for global development needed

    Oct 01, 2015

    Transparency is an essential element in the dialogue to find better ways of preserving the environment, according to the pope, especially transparency in the assessment of the environmental impact of business ventures and projects.

  • Things beyond our imagination

    Oct 01, 2015

    Recently, at an academic dinner, I was sitting across the table from a nuclear scientist. At one point, I asked him this question: Do you believe that there’s human life on other planets? His answer surprised me: “As a scientist, no, I don’t believe there’s human life on another planet.

  • The ordeal of Kevin Morais — and how we can honour his legacy

    Oct 01, 2015

    This weekend, we pause to reflect on the funeral of deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais, who was abducted and then believed to have been cruelly slain.

  • Saving the environment through dialogue and transparency

    Sep 24, 2015

    The world will continue on “the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us,” says Pope Francis, unless everyone works together to find solutions to the environmental crisis through dialogue and transparency.