At the heart of Peter Singer's utilitarianism is the impartial weighing of the interests of those affected by our actions. Singer calls this the Principle of Equal Consideration of Interests. This paper argues that Singer's Principle does not accord with our moral intuitions and the logic of our moral thinking. It discusses the Principle in the context of the parable of the Prodigal Son and his Brother--a parable that raises the issue of impartiality in a particularly challenging way. What the parable shows is, first, that our moral thinking often turns on judgements of fairness that are prior to any impartial weighing of interests; and, second, that impartial fairness itself is sometimes transcended by compassionate love. Both of these points have important implications for bioethics.

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At first sight, Andrew Porter's two-volume Elementary Monotheism hardly seems elementary. It looks more like a grand attempt to synthesise Christian theology with the remarkable developments in the last century in our understanding of the Bible and of ourselves as communal and historical beings. Yet Porter's title is apt. Biblical studies, together with the social and historical turn in philosophy, have challenged Christian faith in our own time just as profoundly as the scientific revolution did in the seventeenth century. What elements of Christian faith can survive that challenge? This is the question Elementary Monotheism addresses.Porter's answer takes its lead from Richard Niebuhr and runs as follows. Any religion must corne to terms with suffering. Some religions do this by finding meaning in the cycle of natural events. Others do so by seeking a perfect life beyond the natural world. What is distinctive about Christianity is that it comes to terms with suffering in and through history. Like Judaism, Christianity sees in events such as the Exodus the providential action of a transcendent God who brings blessings out of disaster. Christianity is an historical-covenantal religion because it takes the Exodus, and subsequently the life and death of Jesus, as signs of God's presence amongst us -a presence that enables us to understand our suffering as an opportunity for spiritual growth here and now. God enters the world "not to save us from it, but to be with us in it U (I, p. 139).Christianity is thus confessional through and through. Its faith in the presence of God in history cannot be justified by reason. The idea that faith needs to be justified is a Baroque and Enlightenment "pathology" (I, p. 212). The Christian's faith in the graciousness of history no more needs to be justified than does the scientist's faith in the intelligibility of nature.This does not mean, however, that faith is arbitrary. The Christian interpretation of history is subject to the same discipline that marks any responsible attempt to understand the past -including the recognition that critical history itself is a social practice developed over time. We can only interpret in a "community of judgement" (I, p. 171) according to our current lights. That is not something to be regretted. It is the nature of human thought.Hence there is always room for a "responsible liberty of interpretation" (I, p. 169). Christianity has tended to make its own interpret-

Background and objectives: Osteoradionecrosis of the jaws (ORN) is a debilitating complication of radiotherapy among head and neck cancer patients. Dentists are critical to the management of patients at risk and may be the first clinicians to encounter new onset ORN. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical teams are commonly involved in the surgical management of such patients. To the best of our knowledge there have been no studies examining the referral pathways of patients with ORN to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Services in New Zealand. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted and included all patients with ORN referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Service at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand in the 3-year period 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2020. Clinical records were accessed to collect data endpoints. To illustrate the potential severity of ORN we also present a case report of a patient with mandibular ORN and pathologic fracture that was managed. Results: Thirteen patients with ORN were referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Service at Christchurch Hospital over the study period. The majority of patients were referred by internal Christchurch Hospital colleagues (Otorhinolaryngology and Hospital Dentists). A wide range of presenting signs/symptoms were found. All patients presented with exposed necrotic bone however no other symptoms were found to be of high sensitivity for ORN. Patients required a range of treatment modalities, from conservative management to resection and fibula free-flap reconstruction. Conclusions: Most patients at risk of ORN are being maintained on long-term Hospital based recall lists for clinical review. Given the wide range of presenting signs/symptoms of ORN, oral health practitioners must exercise a high degree of clinical suspicion when encountering these in irradiated patients.

The first part of this paper offers comments on the current debate within the Catholic church over the point in the development of the human embryo when ensoulment takes place. Interest is not so much in trying to determine the point of ensoulment as in clarifying the concept of ensoulment (animation, hominization) as inherited from Aristotle and Aquinas. This clarification leads to the second part of the paper, a discussion of some problems with the traditional Catholic notion of the soul as a spiritual principle “created immediately…by God”.