About a month ago, the Macquarie University Liberal Club hosted a Sunday Session with Prof Holly Lawford-Smith, titled “The Trans Athlete Debate”, which I watched with interest. Holly is an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne, with a…

I’m a bit late the party… since early 2021, I’ve been studying part-time a Master of Liberal Arts at the University of Notre Dame Sydney, with a focus on Catholic theology, on top of full-time employment. I’ve never been so motivated about postgraduate studies as I have been of late…

That is the name of the rally I attended on Saturday, outside Sydney Town Hall. In the lead up to the event, I thought long and hard about what an appropriate response would be, because no matter how you look at the issue, there is no easy answer. What’s more…

“Progress leads to chaos if not anchored in tradition. Tradition becomes rigid, if it does not prepare the way for progress. But a perverted traditionalism; And a misguided progressivism, lead each other to a deadly excess, hardly leaving any ground between them.” — Bernhard Philberth I recently submitted this reflection…

To be fair, she’d (her name isn’t JK Rowling) probably describe herself as gender-critical instead. She started her conversation with me as follows: “My question for you is this: If one can be “transgender” then why is it not possible to be “transracial”? As a woman, I am mystified by…

Review for a university assessment: Robert Spaemann, “Is Brain Death the Death of a Human Person?” Communio 38 (Summer 2011): 326–340 Assessor’s comments: Your analysis of Spaemann’s paper shows a solid understanding of his thesis, which concentration on its major themes. You show evidence of skill in critical analysis, applying…

I recently submitted this research essay to my university. Feedback from my assessor are in italics and brackets: What is the function of the body in human experience, according to Karol Wojtyła, and how does this develop Thomistic ideas? According to Karol Wojtyla, whilst objects in the world should not…

Review for a university assessment: Cara Buskmiller, “Cryopreserved Embryo Adoption. Not Now, Maybe Later,” National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 16.2 (Summer 2016): 225–231 Assessor’s comments: The paper begins well, clearly identifying the moral issue at hand — the tension between wanting to save life of the embryo who remains in the…

National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly article summarised: The Embryo as Person, by Kevin D O’Rourke OP (Summer 2006) If it is accepted that the human embryo is a person, given they are not autonomous, there is the question of which person/s are responsible for their care, and to what extent. If…