Five hundred years ago a monk called passionately for reforms of the Catholic Church in order to return it to its evangelical roots. All his ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ were summarily rejected, and the monk in question was urged by Pope Leo X and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to follow suit. He refused and, as a consequence, he was excommunicated…

Ten years ago, I took part in an introductory weekend course for clergy and religious from abroad who had come to work in Scotland. The main goal of that weekend course was to give us a better understanding of the country, including its historical, cultural, religious and political background. One talk was about the political framework of the UK including…

Over the last 20 years I’ve seen my fair share of weddings, and I’ve attended a good number of wedding parties in Poland as well as here in Scotland. Generally speaking, weddings in both countries look outwardly pretty similar. There is one significant difference, though. In Scotland there are a couple of complimentary drinks provided at the start of the…

The game of statistics is one of the favourite toys of politicians. Statistical data is used by the opposition to expose a government’s shortcomings or downright failures. A government uses statistical data to demonstrate its efficiency in dealing with economic and social challenges. Funnily enough, sometimes both the opposition and the government use the same set of data to support…