Thomas O’Loughlin
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Theological literacy – more than a digital download
Christian theology means trained reflection on faith and practice, not memorized facts, and that skill belongs to more than clergy alone.
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We cannot avoid theology as disciples
Rather than mining history for precedent, a case is made for asking what serves the kingdom of God going forward.
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Theology as a resource in Christian discipleship
Theological literacy is a tool every disciple needs to navigate faith, doubt and daily life. It makes everyday life easier and richer.
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Priest’s porch confrontation says more than his sermon
A furious reaction to a climate homily uncovers a troubling divide between believing and genuine critical thinking.
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Quick thinking, slow witted
Dictators and demagogues understand a basic human weakness — our preference for neat, simple explanations over messy, complicated realities.
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Bastille Day values: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
The revolutionary triad may express convictions Christianity had long held about freedom, fairness and human kinship
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Standing to pray: sign of a priestly people
Vatican II’s actuosa participatio means the entire gathering celebrates, a priestly people with a presbyter presiding rather than a priest set apart from a people.
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Questions about AI are really religious questions
Every new technology carries an implicit vision of what it means to be human. That makes the deepest questions about AI fundamentally religious ones – even if much of the developed world would prefer the Church stayed silent on matters of profit and progress.
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Banksy captures our moment
A Banksy statue appeared overnight on a London street — a man in a suit, stepping into thin air. Banal at first glance, the figure crystallises something all the year’s op-eds have failed to: the breathtaking gap between political confidence and political vision in our time.
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Fake symbols lead to fake worship?
Bread is baked. Wafer is boiled. No one would serve a communion host alongside soup at a dinner table. The gap between what we call ‘bread’ and what we actually use reveals how far convenience has drifted from the gospel’s original gesture.
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