The Other Side

by | Jun 27, 2011 | P.S.

Earlier this month shortly after his installation, the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church was criticized for using the term “the other side” when referring to Sinn Fein in his first interview on Good Morning Ulster. I don’t want to add to the criticism, as I...

On being counted – or standing up to be counted

by | Mar 1, 2011 | P.S.

The workings of Government are very closely interwoven with the gospel story. Tax collectors and soldiers, courts and politics are all there. Did you ever think what the Christmas story would have been like if Caesar Augustus had not decided to hold a census? No...

Something is better than nothing …

by | Feb 8, 2011 | P.S.

For many years, I taught in the American Studies Program on Capitol Hill, an interdisciplinary semester of study focused on nurturing in undergraduates the vision and virtues required to take up vocations in the public square. Formed by a deeply wrought understanding...

Criminal Justice in Crisis?

by | Jul 30, 2010 | P.S.

I write this on the centenary of the House of Commons speech by Winston Churchill, then Home Secretary, in which he famously said “ …The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the...