And it requires policies which develop carefully an ethical context for medical experimentation and genetic engineering. Because these issues are so important and complex, ours is a ministry of reconciliation. Rational arguments should occur in the middle ground rather than by polarising opinion into the extremes. Instead of rushing to call in police or doctors, government committees or charitable agencies, psychologists or clergy, we would do better to sit down with our children and tell stories together - our stories and theirs. They, and we too, need tales of belonging and light and colour, myths that can recreate the world and give it meaning and substance once more.
Youth suicide demands more than short-term rescue of individuals drowning in emptiness.
As Zola saw, we need to search upstream to see 'who the hell is pushing them in'. Alex McDonald SJ, much experienced in supporting homeless young people, is researching youth issues.