Vol 33 No 1

16 January 2023

ARTS AND CULTURE

The book corner: Faith and doubt in American fiction
- Paul Mitchell
- 03 February 2023
6 Comments
Through exploring the work of nine Catholic American authors — with special focus on Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo — Longing for an Absent God boldly attempts to discover what it is about faith and the desire for transcendence that exerts such influence over the popular imagination.
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INTERNATIONAL

The shadow side of connectedness
- Justin Glyn
- 02 February 2023
No matter how much one might wish for an end to the pandemic, Covid is transmitted aerially, especially through close human interaction, and the virus itself remains stubbornly immune to optimism as a coping strategy.
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AUSTRALIA

Culture wars are for tin soldiers
- Andrew Hamilton
- 02 February 2023
6 Comments
Any discussion of the ethics of culture war should begin with the basic reality of human communication: to flourish, human beings rely on cooperation with other people. Speaking abusively about others weakens the necessary trust that lies at the foundation of a well-functioning society and inhibits the conversation about values necessary in a humane society.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

ChatGPT and the apocalypse
- Simon Smart
- 01 February 2023
5 Comments
With the launch of ChatGPT, my initial amazement quickly gave way to unease and a sense that something essential could be about to be lost. We will need help to navigate such complexity and considering what is essential to our human nature would be an important place to start.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Son of the West: A tribute to Peter Haffenden
- Arnold Zable
- 01 February 2023
1 Comment
Peter’s playful, profound love of life ranged from the earth to the skies, and from the oceans to the great mysteries of the universe. It was a love that was grounded in family and community rituals.
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AUSTRALIA

The case for holidays
- Andrew Hamilton
- 31 January 2023
They take us to unexpected places, to wonder at the beauty of places we have passed by and, dangerously, to ask ourselves where we want most deeply to sail. Holidays can be the call of the Sirens who schemed to lure Odysseus on to the rocks. But they can also be the request that drew Peter to take Jesus into his boat.
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AUSTRALIA

Beyond deserving and undeserving: Shifting perspectives on welfare
- Joe Zabar
- 31 January 2023
1 Comment
A welcome development in the Albanese government's reform agenda is the newly established Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to examine the obligation placed upon governments to provide employment. While the principle of a job guarantee is essential to any social security reform, so too is the attitude we hold towards those who access welfare.
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RELIGION

Cardinal Pell's parting salvo raises questions for the Australian Church
- John Warhurst
- 31 January 2023
17 Comments
Last year, the late Cardinal George Pell anonymously published a memorandum that criticized Pope Francis and his vision of a synodal church and condemned the Synod as a ‘catastrophe’, Cardinal Pell's memo signals building tensions between different visions for the future of the Church in Australia.
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AUSTRALIA

Navigating the tensions of our national holiday
- Julian Butler
- 27 January 2023
2 Comments
Amidst concern for the painful experience of First Nations peoples on Australia Day, and a desire for justice I find myself bouncing between question of moving the date, and all the strands of what the day means and represents.
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AUSTRALIA

Sowing the seeds of resistance
- Andreana Reale
- 25 January 2023
3 Comments
Threatened with the closure of the local nursing home, leaving elderly residents stranded, locals in Dimboola are selling home-grown produce to raise money to save the facility. And at the same time, they're breathing new life into the local sharing economy.
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AUSTRALIA

This Australia Day, all eyes are on the Referendum
- Andrew Hamilton
- 24 January 2023
18 Comments
Australia Day has long been a source of controversy for Indigenous Australians. This year, the Referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament promises to be a major battleground in the ongoing debate over Australian identity, and will serve as a reminder of the deep-seated history of dispossession, discrimination and the long road to reconciliation.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

A teacher's thoughts as the new year calls
- John Kelly
- 24 January 2023
2 Comments
Days shorten, time contracts, as school agendas / rise in gathering waves, break, surge, and cram / into the mind, intruding on the leisure / of swims, beach strolls, and jetty fishing, / and my marvelling at the blithe ease / of the local seabirds at their play / with wind drifts in a cloudless azure sky.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Eternal questions?
- Gillian Bouras
- 18 January 2023
7 Comments
The ‘no religion’ question is complicated and interesting and connected with social change. We live in a much more complex world than previously. Even in my own childhood, it was accepted as a fact that most people were believers of varying degrees of conviction and form. Agnosticism and atheism were not matters for discussion.
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CARTOON

Pokies licence
- Glen Le Lievre
- 17 January 2023
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RELIGION

Two lives
- Michael McVeigh
- 17 January 2023
11 Comments
The two Catholic leaders who passed away this summer both lived in the public spotlight for much of their lives, but they also each lived a private life of which we only ever gained glimpses. Those of us who didn’t know them tend to fill in the details based on which aspects of their public persona best align with our own attitudes.
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Vol 33 No 1