‘Volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous’

Psychologist Richard Hogan was the guest speaker at the meeting of the Boards of Management of Jesuit schools in Ireland, held at Crescent College Comprehensive in Limerick. He spoke to the assembled board members about the issues facing young people today, including anxiety, a sense of vulnerability, and the impact of social media.

“This annual gathering of the Boards of Management of Irish Jesuit schools serves as a key event for networking, strategic planning, and reinforcing the Ignatian ethos across the school network,” according to Education Delegate for the schools, Jonathan Tiernan (see photo). The day was organised by his assistant, Ms Ruth Douglas.

Helen O’Donnell, Chair of the Crescent College board, started off proceedings on Friday, 23 January 2026, by welcoming board members of Gardiner St School, Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College, Coláiste Iognáid, Scoil Iognáid, Gonzaga College, and St Declan’s who had travelled to Limerick from Clane, Co. Kildare, Galway, and Dublin.

Irish Jesuit Provincial Shane Daly SJ gave the opening address and prayer. “V.U.C.A. is the acronym of our time,” he noted, “Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. We cannot shield our pupils from it – the smartphone in our pocket allows us no escape – all we can do as parents and educators is equip them with the skills to navigate these realities and hope that, as active citizens, they shape a better world than the inheritance we are leaving them.” (Read his full address below.)

The Ticking Doomsday Clock

Opening Remarks to Joint Boards of Management Meeting

The doomsday clock is now 89 seconds to midnight. When setting that time in January 2025, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists noted that in 2024 “humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe…national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course.” The quality of 2025’s global political leadership alone will, I suspect, shave off a few more seconds when the new time is announced next Tuesday.

Added to this lack of political leadership, and a direct consequence of it, there remains the continuing nuclear risk, climate change, ecosystem and biodiversity destruction, emerging and re-emerging diseases, disruptive technologies, the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, all of which blur the distinction between truth and falsehood and I have not yet mentioned the bread and butter concerns of cost of living pressures, the lack of affordability in housing or its availability when affordable, and general economic challenges. The Liverpool Poet Robert McGough notes:

Everyday,
I think about dying,
About disease, starvation,
Violence, terrorism, war,
The end of the world.
It helps me keep my mind off things

And all this before we mention the specific challenges of being young: exam pressures, career paths, worries about fitting-in, body image, friendships, relationships and family dynamics, being online, being bullied, low self-esteem, and lack of knowledge of self-worth. Is it any wonder our pupils can feel anxious and vulnerable.

V.U.C.A. is the acronym of our time – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. We cannot shield our pupils from it – the smart phone in our pocket allows us no escape – all we can do as parents and educators is equip them with the skills to navigate these realities and hope, that as active citizens, they shape a better world than the inheritance we are leaving them.

So that’s the scary world our children look out on every day and that is the world in which we now make our morning prayer in hope because despite how things are faith, hope, love, reason, ingenuity, and creativity are gifts given to us so we can build the livable and humane world God intended from the outset for his Creation. So we pray:

Lord may our young people persist in searching for what gives meaning and hope to life.

May they dare to dream the impossible dream for their lives and our world.

May they find in the God’s proposal to humanity as revealed in the life, mission, death, and Resurrection of Jesus a model for right relationship and an anchor when facing the challenges ahead.

May they be blessed with support, care, love, and recognise in limitations and failures catalysts for growth.

May those responsible for their education model justice, delight, gratitude, discernment, and hope and we make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Shane Daly SJ

Crescent College Comprehensive,

23-01-2026