There is a word, originally of French derivation: élan. That word captures well the people and the atmosphere at this year’s week-long YPAT program, which concluded on Monday, July 1 in Campion College, Sydney. Élan conveys a sense of fresh energy, confident style and a certain flair and competence. The root of the word is related to…
In the New Testament, the Greek word oikia is used to encompass several important social realities. The word can mean dwelling place but it also captures the immediate context of our social belonging; our household along with its cultural and religious matrix. The term reaches back into the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus speaks in Matthew 13:2…
I played an amusing game with the AI (artificial intelligence) search function on my computer yesterday. I asked the ghosts of the ether a bland question: “What is the role of G.K. Chesterton?” About a quarter of a minute later the nifty little digital elves came back with answers which we all know: English novelist,…
I have a vivid and decades-old memory of this day: the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. It is of a plain parish school hall with bare floorboards and hard seats. A whole school of primary children heave to their collective feet, enthusiastically billowing out little flowers of visible breath and anticipation. Despite the…
The month of April and May in Western Australia are important for pro-lifers as this is when the prayer vigils during Lent commence and when abortion was legalised in WA. In keeping with this theme, the Thomas More Centre in Perth decided to focus their youth-based activities on the dignity of the human person. In…
On Tuesday this week, I was very honoured to be invited to speak with the newly formed young women’s discussion group that met at Campion College in Sydney. We unpacked the lapidary term, “the culture of life”, first coined by Pope St John Paul II in his encyclical on the vital interaction between theology, Christian…
In 1994, Pope John Paul II was everywhere. In this year, he shored up his work on the nature of moral theology from the year before, evangelised on the dignity of the person, established diplomatic relations with Israel and underlined the importance of the family (it being the United Nations International Year of the Family).…
There is a sense of national and personal shock around Australia this week. Six people (five women and a man) and their attacker at the Bondi Junction knife attack are dead. Each death, including that of the disturbed attacker, sends ripples of tragedy into their families and friends. Many people, including a nine-month-old baby, are…
“For if you do not understand a man you cannot crush him. And if you do understand him, very probably you will not.” (Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Humanitarianism and Strength, c. 1908) This telling comment, like so many by G.K. Chesterton, comes from an article invariably dashed off in haste by him for a deadline for…
Unfortunately, we don’t have Anna writing our newsletter this week. Many of you have written to say how much you enjoy her reflections, and we hope to publish them all on a blog soon. In the meantime, if you’d like to access any of the past newsletters, we’ve put them all in one easily accessible…