Eureka Street

Keywords: Freedom

RELIGION

On 'getting' the synod
- Richard Lennan
- 19 December 2024
Is the synod a parliament, a shareholder meeting, or something wholly unique? How we frame it shapes our understanding of its purpose and outcomes. Beyond analogies, could the true essence of synodality lie in embracing grace and discernment, re-centering the church on its divine mission?
READ MORE
ARTS AND CULTURE

Silent Night, from hymn to hype
- Simon Smart
- 19 December 2024
Modern advertisements blend artistry and manipulation, tugging our heartstrings while selling us things we didn’t think we needed. Take the Austrian financial giant Erste’s annual Christmas ad, which this year chronicles the history of 'Silent Night.' It's breathtaking — until its message makes a baffling twist.
READ MORE
AUSTRALIA

Falling, flying and the weight of the world
- Barry Gittins
- 18 December 2024
As airports swell with holiday travellers chasing far-flung reunions and tropical getaways, a paradox looms above the tarmac: while we demand action on climate change, few are ready to ground themselves. Flight represents humanity’s defiance of limits — an act of freedom, wonder, and consequence. Can we balance soaring ambitions with planetary survival?
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL

Friendship in freefall: Unpacking a crisis of civic disconnection
- David Halliday
- 13 December 2024
In 2024, a fifth of Americans reported having no close friends, and the number is growing, especially among those without college degrees. So what are the societal structures behind this crisis in loneliness, and how we can rebuild meaningful connections?
READ MORE
AUSTRALIA

What should we make of the social media ban?
- David Halliday
- 11 December 2024
The global media fracas around a government daring to impose restrictions on children using social media was dramatic, but not unexpected. Reactions were predictably divisive and steeped in the sort of performative outrage that social media tends to encourage.
READ MORE
AUSTRALIA

Can a ban save kids from social media’s harms?
- Binoy Kampmark
- 04 December 2024
In a move that’s been both lauded as necessary and criticized as overreaching, Australia has enacted legislation banning social media for users under 16, placing enforcement squarely on Big Tech. But behind the legislation lies a contentious debate: does prohibition protect, or does it merely shift the harm?
READ MORE
AUSTRALIA

Inviting in and locking out
- Andrew Hamilton
- 25 November 2024
4 Comments
Social Inclusion Week invites reflection on our shared humanity amidst deep divides. From childhood cliques to culture wars, the tension between inclusion and exclusion is a paradox rooted in belonging. Can we overcome fear and forge connections across difference, or will anxiety keep us apart? The answer shapes our society’s future.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
RELIGION

Pope Francis' challenge to become a synodal Church
- Bruce Duncan
- 14 November 2024
14 Comments
The Synod is possibly the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. And despite its focus on internal Church reform and participation, can it effectively address broader social and moral issues in the world while still promoting a more inclusive and accountable Church?
READ MORE
RELIGION

Progress on a hope and a prayer
- John Warhurst
- 07 November 2024
14 Comments
The Catholic Church recently displayed two strikingly different faces. In Rome, the Synod on Synodality wrapped up with a facade of unity. But back in Melbourne, a Catholic University’s graduation became a battleground over church doctrine and free speech, exposing deep, unresolved fractures within the church.
READ MORE
AUSTRALIA

What happened to #girlpower?
- Cherie Gilmour
- 18 October 2024
1 Comment
The ideological fissures within modern feminism demand examination. Raising a daughter gives me literal skin in the game, making this a deeply personal journey to understand what has changed and what remains true since the seemingly carefree days of #girlpower.
READ MORE

Subscriber login

Keywords: Freedom