The Problem

A few afternoons ago, my wife Barbara and I went to see a movie, one with a subject both repugnant and requisite: child molestation by Catholic priests. It’s called Spotlight. If you like light entertainment don’t go; if you lean to films with a message, even a painful message, do go. (click on the blog's bold title to read the whole.)

Rights and the Refugees

It must be almost half a century since I interviewed an American minister and journalist named Kyle Hasleden, described upon his death in 1968, as “one of the nation’s most distinguished ministers”. He was also a journalist and at the time of my interview he was editor of the country’s – maybe the world’s -most respected theological journal, (Click on the blog's main title to read the whole.)

The Liberals Have It.

It’s now a half century since, in the late 1960s, a Prime Minister named Trudeau took office and appointed a cabinet made up entirely of men. Now, many years later, another Prime Minister Trudeau has taken office. (Click on the blog's bold title to read the whole.)

The Niqab in Politics

I can’t remember a more disconcerting and depressing election campaign than the one we’re now about to end. I only hope that we never again see such a cynical, almost nihilistic campaign strategy as the Harper Conservatives display in the transparent exploitation of a piece of cloth worn by a tiny minority of Muslim women: the niqab. (click on the blog's bold title to read the whole.)

Policing – Not Yesterday but Today

It’s now about half a century since Robert Kennedy, then a Senator and Attorney General, made a comment that bears recalling: “Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves; what is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists upon…(Click on the blog's bold title to read the whole.)