Thoughts on faith, culture, and public life.
Flags of the nations outside the United Nations Building in New York City. If you’re like me, you will often read the moral teaching of Jesus in the Gospels and apply it to your personal circumstances, or your immediate social relationships. Occasionally, we might reflect on biblical teaching as it informs our democratic vote, as …
Continue reading "The Jesus model of international relations"
Papal citizenship, Catholic social teaching, and the politics of conscience By Rod Benson The confirmation that Pope Leo XIV voted in the November 2026 United States midterm elections raises a question that is at once historical, canonical, theological and diplomatic. The Holy See Press Office stated that the pope believes participation in democratic processes to …
By Rod Benson At its best, literature is a conversation across cultures and generations. Writers inherit plots, characters, genres and conventions, then reshape them for different audiences. Yet contemporary retellings of Shakespeare, myth and the novel provoke a genuine question: do they tend to reveal neglected possibilities and navigate unexplored depths in classic works, or …
Continue reading "Old stories, new voices: The art and ambiguity of literary adaptation"
Invocation + In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;his faithful love endures for ever (Ps 106:1). Pause for reflection Good morning, heavenly Father.We worship you, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Good morning, Lord Jesus.We worship …
Continue reading "Morning prayer for Wednesday 28 October 2026"
By Rod Benson The death of the Japanese novelist and filmmaker Ryu Murakami on 17 October 2026, aged 74, brings into focus one of the most unsettling and inventive literary careers of the past half-century. Across more than four decades of publication, Murakami joined formal experimentation to a sustained examination of violence, estrangement, consumer culture …
Continue reading "Ryu Murakami (1952–2026): Literary modernity, alienation, and a theology of hope"
