Everyday Ethics

The country star dismissed religiosity but faith shaped her life and legacy. Audrey talks to songwriter and worship leader Philippa Hanna about the country star’s faith. Donegal Singer Margo O’Donnell used to visit Dolly’s homestead and looked out at the landscape that inspired their collaboration ‘God’s Colouring Book’. And Professors Joanne Murphy and Leon Litvack discuss how the singer broke many of the rules of celebrity, unflinchingly supported causes in a way that didn’t stoke division, and ask whether she is a rare example of authentic leadership.

25 years ago, Father Aidan Troy walked with the girls of Holy Cross Primary School as they passed protesters to reach the school building. He looks back on those days with Presbyterian colleague Rev Dr Norman Hamilton. What were the worst moments of those months of protest? Do they fear that a similar situation could arise again?

There’s been a sharp drop in the number of baptisms over the last decade in Catholic and Presbyterian churches across the island. What does that say about society today and what might it mean for organised religion in the decades to come? Audrey is joined by Dr Tom Finnegan (chairperson of The Iona Institute), Dr Rebecca Stevenson (Public Affairs Officer with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland) and sociologist of religion Professor Gladys Ganiel (Queen's University Belfast).

Who is willing to stand up and fight for those being dehumanised and discriminated against in this society? Have activists become jaded? Who are the courageous and brave of today? Does anyone using a hashtag now deem themselves an activist? Trade unionist Dr Kellie Turtle, theologian Dr Elaine Storkey, and civil rights historian and author Forrest Issac Jones compare the activists of today with those during the civil rights movements of the 1960s.

Sally Hayden has been reporting on migration into Europa for more than a decade. She recently returned to island of Lampedusa, the most southerly point of Europe and the destination of people taking dangerous journeys from the coast of Libya. She explains how the humanitarian and political situation has changed.

Speaking in tongues. Is it a controversial thing to do? A gift from God? To explore where it comes from, and what relevance it has today, Audrey is joined by Pastor John Ashe, from the Journey community church (he can speak in tongues) and by theologian Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick (who can't). In a week when the BBC have reported about Palestinians whose homes in the occupied West Bank have been besieged for days by Israeli settlers, we speak to Ori Givati, a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces, who once served in the West Bank and now works for an Israeli human rights group called B'Tselem, a partner organisation of the aid agency Trócaire. In light of singer Ariana Grande announcing that she would be taking a 'step back from visibility' in light of continued scrutiny of her appearance, former showbiz journalist and commentator Tina Calder and psychologist Dr Stella O'Malley discuss whether in this climate of body positivity there is a moral duty to speak up when someone appears dangerously unwell. Would you like a three day, no mobile, no shoes, one daily meal pilgrimage on an island? Two guests who between them have completed the Lough Derg pilgrimage 15 times explain why they keep going back.

Journalist Liz Kennedy, Rabbi Jonathan Romain and Rev Chris Hudson join Audrey to discuss whether society now rushes to judge someone’s character when they die.

The remarkable story of an Irish nun who joined the French Resistance and survived the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

The Covid 19 pandemic disrupted every aspect of life: education, health, work… and religion. New research collates the experience of faith communities and how they engaged with the state. Have churches learned the lessons from the pandemic? Professor Gladys Ganiel coauthored the reports, and is joined in the studio by Rev John Alderdice (part of the Methodist Church’s response group), Dr Naomi Green (the assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain), and Father Tim Bartlett(who represented northern Bishops on the faith forum).

Christopher Nolan’s epic film based on Homer’s epic Odyssey poem is enjoying box office success. The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins tells why she fell in love with the poem as a teenager and considers how far modern moral sensibilities should influence the adaption of classics.

And Sunday Sequence remembers Bryan Gallagher, whose distinctive voice and gifted storytelling delighted radio audiences. Father Brian D’Arcy reflects on the death of his friend and we listen back to Audrey’s conversation with Bryan back in 2020 when he reflected on his life and what he might change if he had the chance to do it again.

He is one of the best known faces of the Catholic Church in Ireland and now Bishop Donal McKeown is preparing to retire.

Tomorrow Andy Burnham will become Prime Minister but what kind of administration will he run? Growing up as a working-class Catholic in the North of England he says that Catholic Social Teaching had a big impact on his politics. Audrey talks to Professor Anna Rowlands from Durham University. So what is Catholic Social Teaching and how might it be applied to politics by the highest office in the land.

Tonight is the World Cup Final between Argentina and Spain but how much of what we've seen over the past five weeks has been down to pure skills and strategy? Or is there a little bit of belief, a little bit of faith among the players too?

Last month a series of devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela killing at least 4800 people and making tens of thousands homeless. Regina Lynch from Aid to the Church in Need has just returned and tells Audrey what she saw.

And finally, we pay tribute to David Willey who was the BBC’s Rome and Vatican correspondent for 5 decades. He died this week at the age of 93.

A special programme on the theme of love.

How is love defined? Is it a thought? An emotion? A feeling?

Our world is awash with explanations of how and why we love yet we still remain reluctant to define it.

Are humans expected to love unconditionally, in the way that people of faith believe that God does? How can they when they are not divine?

Do faith institutions provide their followers with a path to love or has history shown they don't live up to that ideal?

And in a world where so much hate abounds, what purpose is love serving?

So many questions. To answer some of them we brought together three people from different faiths: Dr Naomi Green is a Muslim, Dr Elaine Storkey is a Christian and Dr Sarah Shaw is a Buddhist

Later in the programme we hear from Colin Doherty who is in charge of medical training at Trinity College Dublin about why he's introducing Love to his curriculum. He wants his students to show more than just compassion and empathy to their patients and thinks that love will make them better doctors.

And we finish by speaking with journalist Sally Hayden about her new book, "This is also a love story," highlighting acts of love in war zones across the world.

In the wake of Jeffrey Donaldson’s conviction, we look at whether he used his faith as a shield to cover his crimes. Eve Rosato talks to theologians Dr Fainche Ryan and Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick about the issues of forgiveness and whether church processes should be used at all in criminal matters.

We also speak to the Archbishop of Jerusalem about the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Belfast and his work in the Middle East.

Finally, as the USA celebrates its 250th anniversary, we speak to Presbyterian minister Neil Craigan who is based in Minnesota about how the city has recovered from the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration earlier this year.

What role did Ulster Presbyterians play in the American Revolution? Audrey talks to Professor Richard Bell from the University of Maryland about the influence of emigrants from here like Thomas McKean from Ballymoney who was the last man to sign the Declaration of Independence.

As the Clonard Novena ends we talk to Ed Peterson about the peacebuilding role they have played. And Trauma affects us all, including Liz Laird who has written a book about her experience as student nurse in the Royal Victoria Hospital at the height of the troubles and the trauma that hit her years later. Audrey also talks to Elaine Miller-Karas from the Trauma Resource Institute about how we can help heal our body from historical trauma.