In this paper, I explore the notion of public interest embedded in the Procurement Act 2023. I use this new piece of post-Brexit legislation as a contemporary example of the difficulty in designing a ‘public interest centred’ system of public procurement regulation. I show how a mix of partly overlapping explicit, referential, and implicit public interest goals results in a situation where there are multiple sources of objectives contracting authorities need to consider in their decision-making, but there is no prioritisation of sources or objectives. I also show that, despite this kaleidoscopic proliferation of sources and objectives, and due to the unavailability of effective means of judicial challenge or administrative oversight, contracting authorities retain almost unlimited discretion to shape the public interest and ‘what it looks like’ in relation to the award of each public contract. This challenges the centralised approach to procurement policy taken by recent and current UK Governments and, in particular, raises significant questions on the likely effectiveness of ‘mission-driven’ procurement. I close with a call to reconsider how public procurement can foster the public interest, in light of its limitations as a regulatory tool.

The USCCB statement resourcing lay ecclesial ministry relies on two biblical images; a mixed metaphor pairing an historical reality of the Pauline ecclesial co-worker and a Matthean parabolic narrative of day laborers. Examining this combined metaphor discloses how their tensions mirror the statement’s theological and pastoral divergences on the scope and authority of lay ministry leadership. The metaphor’s meaning and the statement’s text reinforce one another’s ambiguities enough that they can both highlight the vital ecclesial importance of lay ministry, or allow it to be interpreted in a clericalized way which undermines lay ministers’ value. This analysis is contextualized by pandemic-era stresses on lay ministers, even as there are new recognitions of their importance and value by Pope Francis and the synodal process. The status of these important ministers as true co-workers in the Pauline sense remains largely unrealized, highlighting the need for renewed theological and pastoral efforts to encourage their proper agency in the life of the Church.

Premenstrual exacerbation of existing mental illnesses (PME) is a condition where symptoms of mental disorders worsen during the luteal phase. Unlike premenstrual syndrome or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PME is poorly recognised, with misdiagnoses and inadequate treatment. Understanding the brain impact of gonadal hormone fluctuations in PME is crucial.

Despite the turn to the right of many national governments, including France, the 2024 theatre festival in Avignon programmed by a new director, Tiago Rodrigues, delivered feminist, internationalist, antiracist, and progressive works. The lineup showed both his courage to defend what he believes in and his support of exceptional artists who share his political passions (Caroline Guiela Nguyen, Mohamed El Khatib, Lola Arias, Marta Górnicka, Séverine Chavrier, Baro d’evel, among others).