189 :
01 Apr 2013

Exploring the moral in Les Misérables, Part III... In this final essay of the three-part series of commentaries on the novel Les Misérables, Dr Andrew Kania comes to the heart of Victor Hugo's story. Dr Kania argues that captured in Inspector Javert is "the crux of the theme of Hugo's novel — the tension between the individual living according to the letter of the Law, and those living out the spirit of the Law. Javert is in the midst of a great metanoia — a battle for his heart, mind and soul." [more]

188 :
25 Mar 2013

Exploring the moral in Les Misérables, Part II... In this second essay of the three-part series of commentaries on the novel Les Misérables, Dr Andrew Kania suggests the musical and movie adaptations of Victor Hugo's story lost much of the depth and subtlety of what Hugo was seeking to explore. Dr Kania argues: "Les Misérables is a profound novel — a novel that is deeply religious in its nature; a novel of which the central theme, is, what is meant by religion and salvation; and how this theme continually peels away, chapter after chapter, to ask other questions such as: what constitutes goodness — what is the nature of evil — and how the same world corrupts some — and elevates others to sanctity." [more]

187 :
18 Mar 2013

Exploring the moral in Les Misérables, Part I... The novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, originally written in 1862 has an enduring fascinating for humankind. It has recently been re-released in a new Universal Studios movie version starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. In a three-part series of commentaries, which we will run over the next three Mondays, Dr Andrew Kania presents a series of insights exploring the moral to the entire story. [more]

186 :
04 Mar 2013

The real objective of the spiritual and religious quest... Dr Andrew Kania titled this essay "The presence of God". What it is really all about is the problem any person has in trying to describe "the presence of God". Those who perhaps come closest are mystics but, as you'll discover from the learned minds of some of the writers Andrew introduces you to in this essay, even mystics have a hard time trying to describe their experiences — and the rest of us often have a hard time trying to describe mystics. At its core heart though this is an essay trying to explore what the core objective of the entire religious and spiritual quest is. [more]

185 :
25 Feb 2013

A Fork in the Way (cf. 1 Kings 19: 11-13)... All of us want to make sense of our lives. We yearn for "success" — however we define that term. Life itself though is so often contrary. Today's commentary from Dr Andrew Kania presents two alternative pathways we have in approaching life and making some sense of it. It might seem irrational, or counter-intuitive, to approach life via a negative route but what this man has to say bears much quiet reflecting upon — especially given where the triumphal road to power, glory and dogmatic certitude has led us. [more]

184 :
21 Aug 2012

Would you risk your life for freedom? What drives a person to buy an expensive ticket on a leaky boat to try and get asylum in a country like Australia? What would drive any of us to the point of risking our lives and our futures for years to come to claim freedom and escape persecution? These are the sort of confronting question that you might think of in this concluding commentary from Dr Andrew Kania on freedom. Andrew centres his commentary on a young man whose name is rapidly being forgotten to history. His name was Peter Fetcher. Read on to refresh your memory. [more]

183 :
14 Aug 2012

The origins of moral freedom... Here's another powerful commentary from Dr Andrew Kania that dovetails beautifully with a number of conversations we've been having in the Catholica Forum in recent times about how much the world needs a religion, or simply a sense of the Divine, to create a moral order. Andrew begins the commentary with a question a student posed in class recently about whether it would have been moral to kill Adolf Hitler as a child to save the world from the destruction he subsequently unleashed? Andrew goes on to explore the exploration of this sort of moral dilemma examined by the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. This is, in essence, an essay examining the source of both morality and moral freedom. [more]

182 :
31 Jul 2012

The limits, and limitations, of freedom! For readers of Catholica who happen to be grandparents with grandchildren coming into adulthood Dr Andrew Kania today provides fodder for a great Sunday luncheon discussion with your offspring. The question on the line is a classic in Western thought: "what is confered by the concept of personal freedom, and what are the limits and responsibilities inherent to freedom?" This is the first part of the three-part essay where Dr Kania examines this concept. In today's commentary he explores the thinking of one of the major philosophers who contributed to our beliefs about freedom, John Stuart Mill. [more]

181 :
24 Jul 2012

Beggar, Thy Neighbour (cf. Luke 16:19-31) What enormous pleasure it is to bring you this commentary from Dr Andrew Kania today. It is largely based on the ideas of the economist and challenging thinker Dr E.F. Schumacher author of "Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered". As it happens in about four days time Phoebe Coyne, the editor's daughter and one of Andrew Kania's students at secondary school in the 1990s, leaves Australia to commence an MA in Economics for Transition at Schumacher College at Totnes in Devon, UK. Andrew would have been unaware of this when he submitted this commentary to Catholica about five weeks ago. This commentary today is an examination of some of the spiritual ideas that underpinned much of the economic ideas offered by Dr Schumacher. ...Brian Coyne, Editor [more]

180 :
17 Jul 2012

On Poverty (cf. Matthew 10:28) I confess I have a luxury at the moment in choosing between a collection of commentaries Dr Andrew Kania has submitted to Catholica. I have chosen this one — so it is Brian-incidence rather than God-incidence — because it fits with the discussion still going on on our forum from last Sunday's readings on Providence. What Andrew challenges our neurons with in this essay, principally via some insights from Dr Martin Luther King Jr, are our attitudes to Poverty — both material poverty and spiritual poverty. ...Brian Coyne, Editor [more]

179 :
10 Jul 2012

An examination of the spiritual beliefs of a nation builder... We often read of the religious values of the founders of the American nation but little is written of the religious beliefs and values of the founders of the Australian nation. Dr Andrew Kania has unearthed a 1992 study by Al Gaby entitled "The Mystic Life of Alfred Deakin" which gives an interesting insight into the passions and beliefs that drove Alfred Deakin in the values he brought to the table that helped form the nature and character of the Australian nation. [more]

178 :
26 Jun 2012

The morality of globalization... There are reasons for concern today that the world economy is in serious difficulties. Shortly before preparing today's commentary by Dr Andrew Kania a link was posted on the Catholica Forum from De Spiegal headlined: "Imagining the Unthinkable – The Disastrous Consequences of a Euro Crash". While sadly much of our time on Catholica is focused, for understandable reasons, on what has gone wrong with Catholicism, one area in which it does have a proud record is in the realms of social justice and social policy. Dr Kania's essay examines some of that legacy in the light of the present global economic problems. [more]

177 :
20 Jun 2012

"Enjoying life in 'full' measure (cf John 10:10)" Dr Andrew Kania's commentary today you will find gels in beautifully with some of the recent conversations on Catholica. None of us can honestly say we see ourselves as others see us. Even when we look in a mirror our image is reversed – we know from experience that even a photo or video gives us a distorted image. At times though we have small "epiphanies" in our lives that gives us new insight into how others see us. How do we see ourselves in a "true light" and live our lives "to the full"? [more]

176 :
12 Jun 2012

Things that Matter... With the Roman Catholic Church led by an increasingly sad-looking coalition of bully boys and mummy's boys in a seeming retreat from the higher standards of morality and ethical behaviour that was held out as a promise of the Second Vatican Council, Dr Andrew Kania today takes up his pen on the issue of journalistic ethics and morality. The current Leveson Inquiry being conducted in London into the culture, practice and ethics in journalism and its relationship with politics and other centres of power provides the backdrop for this essay in which Dr Kania takes a look back at an earlier historical example where journalism fell down: the reporting of The Holodomor — the Ukrainian Genocide that occurred 80 years ago. This essay might be a jumping off point for discussion of journalistic ethics, the declining standards in institutional morality, the current scandals in the Vatican coming via Vatikleaks, and much more. It even ties in with the present conversation on our forum on the future capacity of institutionalised religion to be setting the moral compass for society. [more]

175 :
05 Jun 2012

What does it take to be "born again"? In the fourth essay examining the legacy of the Dominican theologian Yves Congar and the Second Vatican Council, Dr Andrew Kania takes us into some interesting territory in light of the current developments within the Church. Just yesterday in NCR there is an article by Robert McClory: "Major Vatican assault coming in October, says former Maryknoll provincial" [LINK]. It is essentially a battle over the two different interpretations that exist in the Church on the meaning, and interpretation, of the Second Vatican Council. If McClory is correct, all of us – whichever side we happen to line up on – may find ourselves "tested" in the sort of ways this essay is discussing. [more]

174 :
29 May 2012

How much reform was expected from Vatican II? In the third of what is now a series examining the legacy of the Dominican theologian Yves Congar and the Second Vatican Council, Dr Andrew Kania today explores Congar's thoughts on the degree of reform that the Council might embrace. Dr Kania argues that Congar represented a "golden mean" between the extreme positions of the liberals and conservatives. This essay might be the basis for a good conversation on Catholica on our own perceptions and also on what the likely outcome might be on what has actually occurred since Dr Congar expressed his thoughts long before the Council in this recently re-issued book "True and False Reform in the Church" originally published in 1950. [more]

173 :
11 May 2012

What is the place of the laity in Catholicism? Can lay people rescue this Church in crisis? In preparation for a forthcoming Conference on Vatican II to be held in Sydney next month, Dr Andrew Kania has been studying the insights of Dr Yves Congar – one of the theologians who had great influence at the Council. Dr Kania will be one of the keynote speakers at the Conference. In this commentary today the focus is on not just Yves Congar's appreciation of the importance and role of the laity in the Church but it draws on insights of Cardinal Newman and some of the history of Andrew's own heritage in the Ruthenian/Ukrainian Church on the critical role the laity have played in saving the Church at various points in history. This essay as well as being educative for us Latins of some of the history of our Eastern cousins in Catholicism provides commentary on the present challenge facing the institution. Might history repeat itself and again it might be lay people who end up pulling the institution out of the present bog it seems to be immersed in? [more]

172 :
04 May 2012

The unfinished challenge of Vatican II... Dr Andrew Thomas Kania brings us a commentary today that will find enthusiastic support from the sort of readership attracted to Catholica. He is exploring a theme in the writings of one of the vibrant minds that helped guide the Second Vatican Council, the theologian Fr Yves Congar. Is our ecclesial mission to the one per cent in humanity or the ninety-nine percent? Is the mission of the Church to be appeasing the insecurities of some remnant element in society or to be bringing the 'Good News' to ALL of humankind? [more]

171 :
19 Apr 2011

The Whole Story (cf John 14:26) Dr Andrew Thomas Kania commentary today looks at the provocative issue of how we define our faith. It's a question that many readers of Catholica confront in their life and faith journey — particularly for those who are finding themselves increasingly distanced, alienated or disenchanted from the institution they have supported for so long. Dr Kania draws largely on some definitions provided by the Jesuit writer and theologian, William O'Malley. Do you agree with this set of "non-negotiables" or would you nuance it slightly differently? Andrew's original title for this essay is "The Whole Story (cf. John 14:26)". [more]

170 :
12 Apr 2011

Come Back to Me (cf Ezekiel 33:11) Catholicism is paradoxical — a contradiction. It insists on Christ being the truth but it is gentle, rather than insistent in forcing belief in the truth of Christ on any person. The way some fundamentalist Catholics carry on one could be forgiven for not believing that. In the lead-up to Easter Dr Andrew Thomas Kania's examines this paradox through the Gospel story of the Woman at the Well and through some observations of Desiderius Erasmus on how to respond to Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers. Andrew's title for the essay is "Come Back To Me" (cf Ezekiel 33:11) This essay fits so well with the style we encourage here at Catholica. It is an essay arguing against Catholic fundamentalism — and essay seeking to rediscover the essential teaching style of Jesus. [more]

169 :
05 Apr 2011

Lip Service (cf Matthew 25:31-46) Dr Andrew Thomas Kania's commentary today is a reflection poignant to this Lenten time of the year and with a certain poignancy to today's editorial on Catholica [LINK]. It draws together insights from one of Australia's great writers, Henry Lawson, and marries them in with insights from one of the ancient seers of the Eastern Church, John Chrysostom. It's a reflection on our constant struggle as human beings with hypocrisy — paying lip service to what we really believe. In fact, Dr Kania titled the essay "Lip Service" and presents it as a reflection on these verses in Matthew's Gospel: Chapter 25 vs 31-46 [LINK]. [more]

168 :
29 Mar 2011

The meaning of the Hypostatic union to us... Today's commentary by Dr Andrew Kania is one you might want to spend a little time with. At one level he's looking at this age-old puzzle of the two natures of Christ — the Divine and the human. At a second level it is all about us. In fact his original title for the essay is "God with Us (cf Jeremiah 1:5)". Why did Jesus choose uneducated fisherman as the leaders of his movement? Does that tell us something of the nature/natures of God and Jesus? What does it tell us about us and our mission in life? [more]

167 :
22 Mar 2011

To make Catholicism strong: let all the lights shine! Today's lead commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is with little doubt the single most powerful and incisive commentary we have yet published on Catholica. It is written with an eye to events on an international canvas. In fact it is not new. It was published in 2008 in the print edition of The Tablet and was under an embargo not to be published anywhere else for 12 months. It is now online in The Tablet HERE. The timing in publishing the article here on Catholica today is probably even more poignant. Catholicism, if it is to become a vibrant force again in the world needs to re-discover the strength that comes from its diversity in rites, cultures, liturgical expression, prayer forms, and its thinking. As Andrew says in ending the article, in the prelude to a quote from Friedrich von Hügel "Christ is too large for any single culture fully to comprehend!" We need diversity to get our head around Christ ... and the Divine. ...Brian Coyne, Editor [more]

166 :
22 Feb 2011

The Impossible Dream: Part 2 Jesus Christ is not logical but paradoxical. Following Christ is about learning to live with paradox. Christ, like many other great leaders in history was seen as a fool in his own time, his insight and greatness only recognised after his death. The pursuit of truth is an exercise in foolishness in a rational world and one that places great store on social conformity and wanting to be liked and respected. These are the essential lessons Dr Andrew Kania seeks to draw out from this conclusion to his exploration of the novel Don Quixote. [more]

165 :
15 Feb 2011

The Impossible Dream: Part 1 We all love watching films and reading novels. Dr Andrew Kania today begins an exploration of one of the most successful stories of all time, Don Quixote. We think of the name Don Quixote in association with the phrase, "the impossible dream". Life for all of us is something of an "impossible dream" as it was for the characters in Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's novel. Andrew suggests we hold in our mind this verse from 1 Corinthians as we read this commentary: "If it was God's wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach". (1:21) [more]

164 :
08 Feb 2011

Part 2 of a series on leadership: Last night on television across Australia we had two programs which were effectively critiques of the leadership of this country's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard. She is not the first agnostic to lead a nation but her example might provide fodder for a discussion that contrasts with the picture of leadership Dr Andrew Kania explores in today's commentary. Dr Kania argues King Alfred the Great earned his greatness from two explicit qualities: his ability to unify a nation; and his emphasis on the education of his people. Ms Gillard certainly places an emphasis on the importance of education. It's probably still up for debate if she is a unifying force. Andrew also argues another quality in a leader is a sense of humility — a sense of being "a servant to a higher calling and Reality". It's an interesting topic for discussion both regarding political leaders and spiritual leaders. How important do you think it is that no leader think of themself as God? How important do you think it is that every leader have some sense of humility that they are also subject to a reality or power greater than any of us? [more]

163 :
01 Feb 2011

Part 1 of a series on leadership: Now here's something to think about ... and have a good conversation about: Dr Andrew Kania introduces a two-part series today exploring the nature of leadership. In this commentary the focus is on King Alfred the Great and is more or less background to what he wants to open-up on next week. The last paragraph today is the crucial one: we'd all agree that leadership is important. The question is does good moral leadership necessarily lead to all the nice things Andrew outlines in the last paragraph? So often in history it seems the crooks and bad guys win. Life for many is marked by injustice and unfairness meted out at the hands of tyrants. What are the lessons in all of this? What is the reward for courage and moral integrity? Why do we need public behaviour to be matched with private integrity in our secular or spiritual leaders? Dr Kania provides meat for a good discussion. [more]

162 :
07 Jan 2011

Celebrating the Byzantine Christmas... A special commentary from Dr Andrew Kania today as we wish our readers from the Byzantine Rite — and we have quite a few of you especially from Canada, Australia and Europe largely thanks to Dr Kania the blessings of this special season of the year. In this commentary Andrew relates the sad, but instructive, story behind a Byzantine Carol that has become a great favorite in the West as well. [more]

161 :
25 Dec 2010

Of Stories and Truth... With this Christmas commentary from Dr Andrew Kania we wish all our readers and members of Catholica a deeply happy Christmas and total spiritual fulfilment in whatever your New Year brings. [more]

160 :
14 Dec 2010

The Goats... BEWARE: Today's commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is as likely to be seen as confronting to conservatives as it is to liberals. It is the long-delayed second part of a commentary from Andrew we published back in April this year looking at the clerical abuse crisis in the Church. You may or may not agree with everything that Dr Kania argues but we are sure you will agree that this is a thought-provoking and powerful commentary. [more]

159 :
07 Dec 2010

The will to live against the odds... There ar some inspiring lines in this commentary from Dr Andrew Kania. Broadly he's exploring the will to live in times of adversity using the story of New York Yankees baseball legend, Lou Gehrig. It's about character building and finding the Spirit within. [more]

158 :
30 Nov 2010

On Commitment... In many ways this commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is in significant contrast to the discussions we've been having on Catholica concerning the decline in Sacramental meaning and participation. It is a commentary that cuts to the meaning of Sacrament and Sign and obliquely raises questions as to why Commitment has declined in contemporary society. Or has it simply started to find expression in new ways? [more]

157 :
23 Nov 2010

The importance of conscience in guiding us to happiness and heaven... Dr Andrew Kania begins today's commentary examining Shakespeare's play, Henry VI. He then links these insights into the observations of an earlier writer, St Gregory of Nazianzen looking at the follies of human behaviour. By coincidence the editor of Catholica had earlier today written some comments about the human aspiration for heaven in today's email which readers might like to also reflect on. [more]

156 :
16 Nov 2010

Searching for an authentic Christology to live by... Today's commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is not a long way removed from many of the present discussions on Catholica discussing alternative ways of reclaiming our spirituality. The authentic Christian is not driven by some deep need to prove how much better, or more holy, they are than anyone else. They are driven by a desire to befriend those who might think differently — a desire to understand their perspectives on life even if they themselves do not accept the alternative perspectives. Andrew suggests Jesus is the model but so are saints like Dominic, Francis and Ignatius. [more]

155 :
18 Oct 2010

SAINTHOOD REALITY CHECK! After the emotional high so many experienced yesterday at the events surrounding the canonisation of Australia's first saint, Dr Andrew Kania brings us back to earth in this reality check essay which he entitled "All Saints (cf. Matthew 21:31)". Many are saints though few will get the sort of acknowledgement given to Mary MacKillop! [more]

154 :
28 Sep 2010

Our aspiration to see the "goodness" of God... It is arguable that buried deep down in the human spirit is this quest for what we describe as "goodness". The word "goodness" is related to "Godness". We aspire to the goodness of God. But can we measure the "goodness" of God? In this commentary, Dr Andrew Kania explores this quest for goodness and Godness in this essay which he originally entitled "Godness"... [more]

153 :
21 Sep 2010

The power of a good story to teach... The acclaimed Czech novelist Milan Kundera has written a number of books exploring deeply the things that drive, or characterise the human spirit. In this commentary, Dr Andrew Kania explores some of the territory covered by Kundera in his sixth novel, Immortality. It is largely an exploration of the shifting social and cultural paradigm that drives our behaviour and thinking. Rich material here for quiet meditation. [more]

152 :
07 Aug 2010

The importance in getting our communications right... Today's commentary from Andrew Kania provides much fuel for discussion on a number of fronts. The principal thrust of his reflection though is all about the importance of using appropriate language and symbol in our communications. The genius of Jesus was his ability to communicate using parable and symbol. Andrew titled this essay "On Teaching" and reminds us of the awe expressed by the companions of Jesus after he had left their company on the Road to Emmaus [Luke 24:32]. [more]

151 :
01 Jun 2010

Our Life Journey... Most people remember Malcolm Fraser's dictum "Life wasn't meant to be easy". It's a phrase many people themselves use at one stage or another about their own life journey. Today's reflection from Andrew Kania is a reflection on the life experience of one man who narrowly escaped the Hindenberg disaster. At the time he was a cabin boy on the Hindenberg when it crashed in 1937 at Lakehurst Airfield, New Jersey. What lessons might all of us learn from reflecting on the experience of this cabin boy, Werner Franz? [more]