Like everyone else we ponder the news and have our own opinions about what may or may not happen, as ill-informed as the next person's, so take today's post as the rambling of a nincompoop if you will. North Korea's attitude to nuclear weapons; the political turmoil in Iran; the sickness and suffering of millions of people caught up in their own private griefs and tragedies, they are all part of the concern of our prayer and so of our reflection. I have been thinking a lot lately about the implications of the economic changes affecting us all. Green shoots there may be for those who concentrate wholly on such things as manufacturing figures, but the situation is decidely sticky and will be for some years. But, once a historian always a historian, so I find myself wondering more and more about the political and societal instability that is likely to follow our present economic woes. I wonder how we'll meet the challenge. Quite specifically, I wonder what role the Church in the west will play in the shaping of things. The Catholic Church has a wonderful record in terms of articulating the necessity of virtue considered as social justice but we've never been in quite this situation before. For a start, we've never had such instant communications among such vast numbers of people. Reverence for authority is not what it was, probably because much authority has shown itself less and less worthy of reverence. Green shoots . . . exploration . . . tentative beginnings. There is hope, but it will not be easy. If we Christians fail to pray our part, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves. (And yes, I did write "pray".)