An Interview with Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (1997-2002); President of Ireland (1990-1997) Originally published by Women’s Review of Books, Wellesley College Mary Robinson may well be the most tough-compassion, pragmatic human rights advocate of recent times. Appearing last December as the key moderator for the State of the World Forum’s Commission on Globalization Meetings in Mexico City, … Read More
Spiritual Activism & Peacebuilding: A Work in Progress
The Legacy of the Belgian Congo and the Story of Mulegwa Zihindula spokesperson for Pres. Joseph Kabila in 2002 Raised in a village in Eastern Congo. Became a Christian Pastor. Received a Masters Degree in Conflict Transformation at a University in the US. Served as Spokesperson for President Joseph Kabila in … Read More
Beyond Limits: A Portal Beyond Pain
While we usually think of going beyond limits as something reserved for elite athletes performing feats of physical daring, the courageous spirit and self-determination that make such deeds possible can be found in individuals from all walks of life and in every scenario that tests the strength of the human soul. The following story is a profoundly inspiring example of … Read More
Calling for More Conscience on a Difficult Issue: Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Amy Edelstein interviews Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum Equally at home with President Jaques Chirac and indigenous peoples from around the world, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Laureate and activist, stands out for her uncompromising ability to build bridges and bring the issues of the poor and often forgotten peoples of the world forward with strength, dignity, and fortitude. After the … Read More
A God-Shaped Hole at the Heart of Our Being
An interview with theologian Dr. John Haught. Standing in front of the annual Metanexus conference on science and religion at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, Dr. John F. Haught cut a quiet and impressive figure. One of the more passionate proponents of an evolved and evolving spirituality, Haught is personally committed to dissecting what he feels are the gross … Read More
Transforming the Seeds of Corruption
An interview with Brother Wayne Teasdale “We have a universal responsibility to speak out when we see injustice, oppression, and the abuse of human rights, the rights of the earth, and other species,” writes an impassioned Brother Wayne Teasdale in his book The Mystic Heart. “Personally, I find the silence [on the crisis in Tibet] disturbing and morally indefensible; it … Read More
Can’t Possibly Do That! The Heavens Will Fall In!
Amy Edelstein interviews MP Ray Swark, leader of the South African anti-apartheid movement The dismantling of apartheid rule in South Africa is one of the recent decades’ greatest models of social evolution. It was as if the sleeping world stretched and heaved off a great weight, and did so without massive bloodshed, hatred, or deeper scars marked into the human psyche. … Read More