Giovanni Cucci, SJ

The difficulty of being by yourself A time of enforced rest – such as the period of isolation to cope with the coronavirus pandemic – can also provide a valuable lesson. Many have reflected on the significance of this serious epidemic in this respect. Among the many ideas, we would like to take up one… Read the full article

Prevention is key to combating cybersex. The clear need to encourage young people to exchange views and dialogue on the issue can be met to some extent through schools. There, educators are called upon to develop effective education programs for growth in managing affections and proper use of the internet, to reflect on its potential… Read the full article

A useless experience? It is a common opinion that the spiritual life and the hours spent in retreat, as in the case of the Spiritual Exercises, are basically a waste of time and energy that could be better devoted to more useful and profitable activities. On the other hand, some try to use it for… Read the full article

Specific characteristics of cybersex The internet, while it offers enormous possibilities on many levels – information, data, speed of contact, time saved and relationships improved – also renews long-established problems of the offline world (solitude, pornography, violence, theft, viruses) but on a qualitatively different scale. Like any new development, digital technology cannot solve a problem… Read the full article

Video games: help or obstacle to learning? The topic of playing games, in both a serious and fun sense, as help or distraction, has been widely debated over time, and certainly well before the appearance of video games.[1] These games have raised these issues again but this time at a more complex and varied level…. Read the full article

A human being’s ability to react to negative events is remarkable. As research shows, the consequences of a trauma depend largely on how individuals interpret the occurrence, their core values, and above all whether they face it alone or have someone close by who can help. The ancients taught that a human being is by… Read the full article

One of the most deeply rooted symbols in people’s imagination today is the association between happiness and wealth with its many derivatives (consumerism, power and accumulation). Yet this axiom is not only false, it is also one of the major causes of unhappiness. This article presents some detrimental cultural and social consequences of this mentality, also in light of research carried out in the psychological sphere. These all arrive at the same conclusion attributed to Jesus: “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” Even so, trust in the binomial of happiness and possession-of-goods shows no sign of relenting. It is a typical example of what researchers call “intellectual distortion.”

Recently, newspapers have given wide coverage to cases of sexual abuse perpetrated on minors by members of the clergy of the Catholic Church, especially in Ireland and Germany. Following these events, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland.[1] On several occasions, our magazine has already dealt with this age-old problem.[2]… Read the full article