by Sr. Sheila Campbell, MMM                        Ireland                                   18.07.2026

Recently I listened to a sermon where the priest was saying basically, “we are right and they are wrong”. He was talking about the excommunication of a group of traditionalist Catholics.  Inside my head I was thinking, “But from their point of view, they are right and we are wrong!”  Oh, dear, I thought to myself, how do we ever get to distinguish the truth if everything becomes relevant.

I don’t often spend sleepless nights pondering on these philosophical questions, I assure you! But just teasing it out a little I do think it does no harm in occasionally taking a look at a situation from the side I don’t agree with.

I will give a few examples – Holocaust deniers, climate change deniers and anti-vaccination people. I do truly believe that the Holocaust happened, that climate change is here whether we like it or not and that, overall, vaccinations have been beneficial.

What do I learn from looking at why these people take the opinions they do? One thing is that it brings out a more compassionate side in myself. Most people have been shaped by their upbringing, culture and other people who have been influential in their lives. It helps to see what formed them, and the context in which these opinions emerge. Certainly, in current times every conspiracy theory is amplified and spread rapidly via social media. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could spread kindness, generosity and care for other just as easily!

There is only one truth that I cling to, and it steered me daily through all the muddle of our world of heated debate and tension. God loves me, just as I am, warts and all and as Julian of Norwich said, “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. “