Edmund Rice International

“My voice cannot compete with an electric guitar”, said one specialist on development aid for Africa. Commentary on aid to Africa has, in the main, been the preserve of aging rock stars and Western politicians. And, so, the voices of those who raise doubts about what some are calling the ‘aid industry’ remain largely silent. [...]

Peace activist and former Iraq human shield, Donna Mulhearn, is to take up a role as Regional Coordinator of the Edmund Rice Network in NSW and the ACT. In announcing the appointment, the Province’s Director of Networking, Communication and Development, Br Steve McLaughlin said in a statement that Donna Mulhearn’s social activism would sit comfortably [...]

Today, in the Anglican Church, the Book of Common Prayer commemorates John Donne, priest and poet. I was struck by the beauty and aptness of this combination. Priests and poets are both breakers of the Word, albeit in different ways. Macrina Wiederkehr has a beautiful poem, Twilight Hour, which I post here. “Twilight’, she says, [...]

Lucid commentary on economics is rare. In this time of economic crisis media commentary on economic matters has increased and public interest in such commentary has prompted greater coverage and output. But not always resulting in greater clarity and enlightenment. One exception to this norm is the Policy Briefing of the Irish CORI Justice team. [...]

Saturday morning tends to be a little less stressful than the rest of the week. I get to stay in bed a little longer. Promptly at 7.00am my radio tunes in to the weekly France Culture; eco-magazine. It is called Terre à Terre, introduced by theme music that is a blending of earth sounds with [...]

Stories from Zimbabwe abound. We have heard the cholera stories, the state violence stories, the hyper-inflation stories and many, many more. All of them are dispiriting. All of them attest to the collapse of what was once one of Africa’s shining stars. Now Zimbabwe is a dark star. Some would claim that Zimbabwe is a [...]

Zambia remains one of the better governed countries in Africa. At least its institutions of governance work by and large. However, corruption remains an issue despite some gains. Zambia’s courts have handed down some tough rulings against corrupt officials from previous administrations. This has been interpreted by some as a positive indication of a commitment [...]

Sometimes we wonder about the connection between prayer and doing the work of justice. Scrabbling around on the Internet this morning searching for a prayer resource I came across a reference to Margaret Rizza, the composer of chant and sacred music. Margaret has been involved for many years with spirituality and with different groups seeking [...]

These days the media has been focused, at least in the UK, on the tragic death of Jade Goody, a reality TV celebrity, who when diagnosed with cancer decided to live her final days and last moments as a media event. One thinks of others who lived their final illness more or less publicly; Pope [...]