Category Archives: Catholic Herald columns

PLACEBO

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Quentin

I like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. After all I have had a long life, following a Jesuit education, married for 60 years, five children and a career in high level finance. I am confident that … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns, Neuroscience, Quentin queries | Tagged | 28 Comments

Hippopotomous words

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Quentin

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia – that should give our typsetters a problem! It means a fear of long words. I think I could have coped with sesquippedalion because I can see that it means a foot and a half, but how the hippo … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns, Uncategorized | 50 Comments

Stop eating meat

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Quentin

If, like me, you have ‘millennial’ granddaughters you will have encountered vegetarianism. What, several years ago, was regarded as an eccentricity has become common. And, more than common, it appears to carry moral overtones. It is no longer a simple … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Climate Change, Quentin queries | Tagged | 65 Comments

Human flourishing

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Quentin

Before he was elected pope, Joseph Ratzinger spoke of Socrates as “in a certain respect the prophet of Jesus Christ”. He saw him as a philosopher who was concerned with the fundamental questions of whether man alone sets standards for … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Philosophy | 57 Comments

Have I made a mistake?

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Quentin

Why is the first paragraph of this column so important? That is easy to answer. If the first paragraph sounds sufficiently interesting you are more likely to read on. And, providing that your interest continues as we get into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Philosophy | 26 Comments

The drama of aging

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Quentin

This November the BBC reported a dramatic study, published by The Lancet, which told us that falls in the fertility rate of nearly half of all countries have resulted in insufficient births per fertile woman to maintain their population. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns | 44 Comments

Well, would you?

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Quentin

In a village in Poland in 1942 you, as a member of a company of middle aged Germans soldiers, are raising your rifle at a crowd of women, children and the elderly. Your commander has given leave to any soldier … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Quentin queries | Tagged , | 43 Comments

Hawking and the Afterlife

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Quentin

Stephen Hawking’s last book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions has recently been published (John Murray). We are not surprised to hear his “profound realisation” that there was no afterlife or supreme being. It caught my eye because Fr Rolheiser … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns | Tagged | 28 Comments

A word for the wise

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Quentin

Some years ago I was leading a marketing project using large newspaper advertisements soliciting eager responses from the readers. I consulted the experts, and I found that there was an established comprehensive set of rules known to achieve the best … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Uncategorized | Tagged | 8 Comments

What the secular world can teach

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Quentin

It must be approaching 50 years since my eldest son accused me of not being like other fathers. His criticism was “Other fathers answer their children’s questions, you only ask me what I think.” I would maintain that my response … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Church and Society | 11 Comments