Summer 2015 War And Peace

Winning the day

30 January 2015 EH

We can ride through the stormy weather or we can succumb to it. It’s a choice we make each day.

Explorations: What is war good for?

30 January 2015

Once people saw war as simply a fact of life, like hurricanes and earthquakes. They feared it and prayed to be delivered from it, but did not stop to think whether it was right and wrong. It was as natural for human beings to go to war as it was for lions to kill deer that crossed their path.

The human face of war

Michele Gierck 30 January 2015 EH

News reports of war – offering a daily count of how many bombs are dropped, targets hit, military personnel deployed, and new acts of violence – are relentless. However, there are some aspects of war that are not so easy to tally.

Did we learn nothing?

30 January 2015 EH

Eleven years after Donna Mulhearn first went to Iraq as a human shield, she is still working tirelessly for peace. It was the Prayer of St Francis that inspired Donna to travel to Iraq in 2003. Over the last decade her commitment to live the Prayer of St Francis has brought her to Iraq five times, as well as other war‑torn regions. As Australia returns its military forces to Iraq, Australian Catholics spoke to Donna about the situation in the country today.

A field guide to meditation

30 January 2015 EH

A lecturer on meditation at Catholic Theological College and the coordinator of School of Prayer with the Melbourne Archdiocese’s Office for Evangelisation, Fr John Dupuche gave us eight tips on using meditation to create peace in your mind and heart.

Quiz: The peace game simulator

30 January 2015 EH

Are you the type of person who makes conflicts worse or helps resolve them? Try our peace game simulator and take a look at these scenarios and see how you would respond to each one.

Peace in the playground

30 January 2015 EH

How do we cope when we become the target of a bully? As teenagers, it’s common to get hooked onto trying to fit in. We can do some pretty crazy things to be in the ‘popular’ group. Although it’s great to feel so loved by many others, we should try to be an individual, remain true to our self and should not feel compelled to do something we don’t want to do.

Lives set adrift

30 January 2015 EH

Here in Australia, refugees who arrive without authorisation are subjected to detention, and those who come by boat are sent to overseas processing centres and told they will never be allowed to settle in Australia. We asked one of our young writers, Brenna Dempsey, to speak to some people who work with refugees to see if she could find out some of their stories.

Playlist

30 January 2015 EH

At times it feels like living with conflict is the new normal. These movies remind us that peace is still possible.

Recipe: Masala Dosa (Crepes with Spicy Potato Filling)

30 January 2015 EH

My parents would often take my sister and I to the inner-city Sydney suburb Surry Hills, or Harris Park in the west to catch up with the Bombay street snacks they missed from their childhood. Masala dosa, a rice and lentil flour crepe filled with spicy potatoes, was our staple choice. Rather than making traditional dosas, requiring soaking, grinding and fermentation, I’ve got a simple crepe recipe that will do the trick.

Online exclusive: The experiences of young Muslims

30 January 2015 EH

A Catholic school student interviews two Muslim friends about violence and conflict committed in the name of their religion, and the impact that it has on their lives here in Australia.

Online exclusive: Born into conflict

30 January 2015 EH

The Sri Lankan Civil War lasted 26 years and devastated the country, killing nearly 100,000 people. One teenager who survived is Nakulan*, now 15 years old and studying at a De La Salle Brothers vocational training program, Colombo.

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Summer 2015 War And Peace