Eureka Street

Keywords: Africa

ARTS AND CULTURE

Sanmao and the priest
- Margaret Simons
- 13 December 2024
High in Taiwan’s mountains, Jesuit priest Barry Martinson found a soulmate in celebrated author Sanmao, who inspired millions with her writing. Their relationship—neither romantic nor conventional—was a profound meeting of kindred spirits, rooted in shared curiosity, literary love, and the sacrificial essence of friendship.
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AUSTRALIA

The spirituality of KFC
- Michael McGirr
- 22 November 2024
3 Comments
There’s this other place that is neither heaven nor earth but which you might find in the car park of the third busiest KFC in Melbourne, waiting for your son to finish his shift. A bin beside the car is overflowing with all the packaging that comes with fast food, not to mention the remains of poor dead chooks whose life it is hard to imagine.
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RELIGION

Why don't we hear about violence against Christians?
- Michael McVeigh
- 18 November 2024
7 Comments
Religious persecution often fades from public view unless it fits a political agenda. Yet Christians worldwide continue to face existential threats, from systemic repression in China to deadly violence in Nigeria. It’s worth reflecting on the cost of indifference and what it means to advocate for justice beyond our culture wars.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Theory and Practice: In conversation with Michelle de Kretser
- Michael McGirr
- 15 November 2024
Michelle de Kretser's new book Theory and Practice is a creative combination of fiction and essay, and concerns the moment in which the encounter with literature, a connection with another human imagination, is replaced by something called 'Theory'.
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AUSTRALIA

Reshaping Remembrance
- Stephen Alomes
- 11 November 2024
2 Comments
On Remembrance Day, we’re called to confront war’s real toll — not just on soldiers but on civilians, families, and especially children. From WWII’s devastated cities to today’s ravaged Gaza, can we reframe our commemorations to reflect the universal, harrowing cost of war beyond national myths?
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RELIGION

The quiet revolution in women's roles in the Church
- Joanna Thyer
- 07 November 2024
3 Comments
At the World Synod in Rome, four women joined to advocate for ordaining women as deacons. Though the topic remains off the table officially, the message highlights the Church’s internal conflict between traditional values and growing calls for inclusion and change.
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INTERNATIONAL

Anxious and depressed about the state of the world? Good for you
- Mark Beeson
- 04 November 2024
The Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to calamity. In addition to the atomic scientists’ original concern about nuclear war, now climate change and the possible dangers of AI are parts of a potentially combustible mix. In short, there is much to fret about for anyone paying attention.
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AUSTRALIA

The ruler in a shack on the other side of the universe
- Michael McVeigh
- 21 October 2024
7 Comments
With King Charles and Queen Camilla’s pending arrival in Australia, I have a guilty admission to make. The older I’ve become, the more fondness I have for our constitutional monarchy. That’s not to say I wouldn’t welcome a move to an Australian republic. However, I’m cautious about the sort of republic we might make for ourselves.
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ARTS AND CULTURE

The contours of exile: The poetry of Derek Walcott
- Peter Steele
- 29 August 2024
1 Comment
Good poetry stops us in our tracks, visited as we are by whatever it is that has stopped the poet in his tracks. This agency may properly be, as in Walcott's case, something stemming from cultural marginality, from a fascination with the dramatic, from an equipoise between the lyrical and the epical, or from the interweaving of all these. (From the Eureka Street archives)
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RELIGION

Women deacons: Is it time?
- Elizabeth Young
- 15 August 2024
12 Comments
Copious research has demonstrated the historical existence of women deacons, including St Phoebe, the only person in scripture with the descriptor Deacon. So how far off is Australia from ordaining women deacons?
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ARTS AND CULTURE

Justice and Hope
- Andrew Hamilton
- 07 June 2024
1 Comment
Raimond Gaita insists that there is something precious in each human being. He does not rest this conviction on a particular religious or philosophical grounding. It flows, rather, from a rich reading of human possibilities and questioning of the meaning of life.
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INTERNATIONAL

An indelicate balance: Israel and Iran exchange blows
- Binoy Kampmark
- 01 May 2024
1 Comment
For decades, the major powers of Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia have kept a restraint on their hostile engagements, with preference given to battle waged via proxies. A recent Israeli air strike on Iranian offices in Syria and Iran's subsequent attack on Israel with 185 drones, 110 ballistic missiles and 36 cruise missiles suggested that calculated restraint had been finally abandoned.
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Keywords: Africa