In his recent teaching letter “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis speaks about our throw away society . But he is highlighting people, people who are regarded as dispensable. The poor, disabled and the unborn. (Paragraphs 18 – 19)

The Pandemic is having a disproportionate effect on the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly the old. The unborn and their mothers are under even more threat due to ‘do it yourself abortions’ where women have suffered serious harm and there are recorded deaths.

Each day we have the number of people who have died due to Covid and are numbed by the daily death toll.

Yet there are many who are responding with love and care, not least doctors, nurses , teachers and other numerous front line workers.

Where love is there is God.

In these times we can take stock. Everyone is valuable, priceless even. Let what is thrown away be selfish individualism and rubbish values.

All are leaders in one way or another. We give a lead in what we say, do and how we live. We may choose to give advice and offer our opinion which can make a difference.

We may have a leadership role in the family, work, community or political life. Our circumstances may have thrust this upon us for a mixture of reasons or we have chosen it.

We see leadership played out in the lives of those we know and on the world stage as in the American election for President.

Pause for thought: What does the lead we give say about us, our values, beliefs and convictions? How does the lead we give affect others? Do we see the lead we give as a responsibility?

It is clear, leadership can be self serving or spring from inner needs. On the other hand it can be altruistic. We have risen to the task we see before us.

Having accepted the challenge there may be times we would like to step back and have a quiet life like the servant in last Sunday’s gospel at Mass. He buried his master’s talent in the ground and on the master’s return when this came came to light, has the talent taken away and given to the servant who had been given five talents and who had made five more.

“For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25: 14 – 30)

So leadership involves using our gifts and talents in the service or others according to the needs we see around us as the opportunity arises.

Role models are important and it is heartening to recall Pope Francis holding up Martin Luther King Jnr and Dorothy Day as great Americans when he addressed Congress on 24th September 2015 on his visit to the States. King was assassinated as we know and Dorothy Day gave her life for the downtrodden and those on the margins and was a peace campaigner.

These are challenging times and all are challenged.

As Martin Luther King said on the eve of his death, ” Like anybody I would like to live a long life. longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go up to the Mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

I received the following from the Society for the Protection of Unborn (SPUC) Children today;

“Today marks fifty – three years since the passing of the abortion Act on 27th October 1967.

Since then, more than nine and a half million babies have lost their lives to abortion. Countless mothers have suffered.

Please pray

Today, we pause to mourn and remember those impacted by abortion. Please spend some time in prayer, or take a minute in silence to remember.

We also use this anniversary to reflect on the challenges we are facing, and to recommit ourselves to abolishing the evil of abortion. 2020 has seen some of the worst expansions in abortion practice since 1967, with abortion being officially imposed on Northern Ireland, and the deadly DIY abortion scheme coming in at the beginning of lockdown.

The challenges we face are very great. But we know that we have science, and truth, on our side. The pro-life position is very simple. Life begins at conception, and every human life is valuable and worthy of protection. We shall continue to proclaim these facts, and strand up for unborn babies and their mothers.”

I would add, God, loving Creator of the universe and Father of all is on our side.

Why is progressive or left of centre politics so pro abortion in contrast with the political right?

 In America at the moment some church leaders are favouring Donald Trump because of his pro life stance which has undoubtedly had a significant impact in advancing pro life policy at home and abroad since he took office. His pro life support is well documented on line for those seeking detail.

Joe Biden, a Catholic, is apparently pro choice.

Protecting babies in the womb is overwhelmingly the pre eminent issue it is argued, given the numbers of abortions. So whoever is the most pro life presidential candidate is the one to vote for it is said no matter how lacking in acumen for the top job he may be.

It is a puzzle how the left can campaign for human rights in areas of race, gender and social class and not apply to the unborn any human rights at all, especially as unborn babies are the weakest and most vulnerable!

Christians hold fast to the gospel imperative of social justice spelled out in the social teaching of the Church while at the same time championing the fundamental right to life of the unborn. The two are of a piece. A single woven fabric which proclaims how precious all human beings are in the sight of God.

The common denominator is that all are made in God’s image and that all are precious and irreplaceable in God’s sight. We are all brothers and sisters as Pope Francis reminds us vividly and eloquently in his recent encyclical teaching, ‘Fratelli Tutti.’ His words about migrants can easily be applied to the unborn.

“Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they posses the same intrinsic dignity as any person.. No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.”

The gospel holds together the rights of all whether migrants or the unborn as daughters and sons of our Creator God.

If there was a political party that championed the rights of all – those on the margins of society, minorities, migrants, the poor and the unborn, Christians wouldn’t be faced with the conundrum they face in the American elections. An American who did have the whole deal later in her life following her conversion to the catholic Church after an abortion and two subsequent  suicide attempts is Dorothy Day (1897 – 1980). Pope Francis cited her on his visit to the States as one of the great Americans. In his address to Congress he mentions four greats – Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

Dorothy Day following her conversion to the Catholic Faith, gave her life to running houses of hospitality for the poorest and most vulnerable, some houses still operate today. She was a campaigner for peace and the Catholic Worker news paper she started, championing Christian values is still published. For her there was no dissonance, no dichotomy. No distinction between her Catholic faith and her social awareness. Everything was of a piece. Her name has now been put forward for canonization as a recognized Saint of the Church.

Read about her in the recent biography,“Dorothy day, dissenting voice of the American century,” by John Loughery and Blythe Randolph.

So where to next in American politics?

Christians should be involved in political parties to bring about change so that unborn babies can be protected rather than denied the most basic of human rights – the right to life.

Anyone affected by the issue of abortion can seek help. www.lifecharity.org.uk  

An article I would like to share

The Scottish government and Universities Scotland have put profit before people

Morag Innes

Over the past few weeks, students from across the UK and further afield have been either returning, or arriving for the first time, to Scottish universities. Last week, freshers’ events were held across Scotland in what ordinarily would have been an exciting time for incoming students, with the opportunity to make new friends, join societies and settle into university life more generally. Then, two days ago, all of this changed with the announcement of harsh restrictions placed on students after Covid-19 outbreaks.

I can understand why you might ask, “Why did students physically arrive on campus during a global health pandemic? Wasn’t an outbreak surely inevitable?”. It is not uncommon to hear cries of how irresponsible and reckless students have been. But this rhetoric is deeply unfair and detracts attention away from who is ultimately responsible: the Scottish government and Universities Scotland.

Most students were promised that they would receive ‘blended learning’ – a combination of both remote and in-person teaching. However, we now know this is not the case, and all learning will be remote for the foreseeable future. This begs the question, why would universities make this promise to students, with the knowledge that learning was likely to be entirely remote, and in full awareness of the dangerously unnecessary risks of encouraging students to arrive on campus? The answer is painfully simple: the Scottish government and Universities Scotland have put profit before people.

Over the past few decades, higher education has seen turbo-charged marketisation. By encouraging students to arrive on campus, universities have reaped the financial rewards of tuition fee payments and the sky-high costs of halls of residence. It seems unimaginable that universities were not aware of the risks. Murano Street Residences at the University of Glasgow, the largest student halls in Scotland and the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak, holds 1,579 rooms. Surely the university could have predicted that throwing such large numbers of people into shared living spaces could only end in disaster? Why weren’t adequate measures taken during the summer to ensure that student accommodation would be safe to live in?

Students were also lulled into a false sense of security by universities. At my own university, the University of Glasgow, many Freshers’ Week events were held in person. There was a Freshers’ Fair for societies and various events at the student unions, such as a vintage clothing sale. The university’s Beer Bar was open during the evenings and often attracted queues of students. All of this was not only permitted but actively encouraged by the university.

Yesterday, the news broke of 172 positive Covid cases at Murano Street Residences with various other outbreaks at universities such as Dundee and Aberdeen. Despite universities and the Scottish government having actively encouraged students to return to campuses and participate in freshers’ events, the blame was immediately pinned on students. That evening, the announcement was made that all students were banned from seeing anyone outside of their own accommodation or from visiting pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants. Students were told that any breaches to these rules “will not be tolerated”.

Where does this leave students? Not only have we been scapegoated by the Scottish government, but we have been confined to our accommodation without knowing when we will be able to see our families again. First-year students are trapped in poor quality student halls, with people they have only just met, after having likely left home for the first time in their lives. Extortionate accommodation fees are being paid, as well as grossly high tuition fees for non-Scottish students, without the academic and social experiences that this was promised to bring.

Students from within halls are already talking of feeling isolated and lonely. Students who are vulnerable to Covid due to health conditions are now trapped in an at-risk environment, seemingly unable to leave. This is bound to be particularly difficult for students who have disabilities such as autism, learning difficulties or physical impairments. No mention has been made of students who may have caring responsibilities. Students who do not live in halls have also been included in restrictions, despite no clear evidence that they are part of the outbreak. There has been no thought given to working-class students who rely on part-time employment to afford living costs. The situation is so utterly dire that the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland has raised concerns regarding “human rights implications”. 

Potentially, all of this could mean that students who are vulnerable, suffering from mental health problems, or reliant upon part-time work might drop out of university. Due to austerity measures imposed by the Westminster and Holyrood governments, our mental health services are simply not fit to deal with the crisis that is bound to ensue from these conditions. The Scottish government has already failed young people this summer with the SQA exam fiasco, and now they are failing young people again.

Where do we go from here? In the first instance, direct action is needed to protest the harsh measures and poor living conditions that first-year students face. The Glasgow Uni rent strike campaign has already been established on social media to force commercialised universities to listen by impacting their profits.

Secondly, the Scottish government and Universities Scotland need to take responsibility for their part in causing this outbreak, rather than continuing to scapegoat students. The government and the universities had a duty of care to students, and on this they have totally failed.

Thirdly, the Scottish government need to commit to increased funding for youth mental health services so as to halt the downward trajectory of youth mental health conditions. However, this would only deal with the symptoms. If the Scottish government really want to help students and save higher education they need to deal with the cause and overturn the commercialisation of the sector. Never again should profit come before the safety and wellbeing of students.Tags: Scottish Labour / Coronavirus / SNP government / Lockdown / Freshers Week / Universities Scotland / Scottish universities / Students /

Morag Innes

Morag Innes is vice-chair of Glasgow University Labour Club.

“A leopard doesn’t change its spots.” A phrase often used about someone we disapprove of meaning that they will always be as they are and there’s nothing to be done. The danger here is that we imprison the person right where they are and this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

We see political leaders lying, cheating and acting inhumanely in defense of power, wealth and privilege.

We see closer to home family, friends and people at work (if we are going to work in this Pandemic) who, from a faith perspective, need to change – who need God in their life.  

Yet there are ample examples from the present day and throughout history of those who come to a more enlightened way of life and to a personal faith in God later on or even at the end of their lives when those around them were convinced all was lost.

God has a vision for each and every person. Of what they can be and achieve for their personal betterment and the betterment of society and the world. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” we read in Jeremiah 1.5.

In the Gospel reading for Mass this Sunday, Jesus relates the parable of the workers in the Vineyard. Those who were hired last received the same payment as those who had worked all day in the heat of the sun. The owner went out and discovered these latecomers standing idle. He saw their need and what they could do. He believed in them and knew from the strart he would be generous in spite of the protestations of the staple work force.

Do we believe in the potential of those around us and those in authority?

God walks alongside everyone even those who don’t recognise this. God is gracious and has given humankind the greatest gift of all – free will. It is when someone notices God alongside them and opens their heart to receive the great love and mercy on offer, that transformation is possible, even at the last hour.

What can we take from this? For those already in the Vineyard, we can see the potential in everyone. Work and pray for even the most unlikely to come into the Vineyard. Rejoice when they come for the gifts and the special place God gives even latecomers. Be ready for more labour no matter how late the hour. Pope Frances is 83. Just look at all he is doing.

God is always going out looking for those not yet in the Vineyard and sees the potential of all.

In the Gospel for last Sunday’s Mass, Jesus speaks about forgiveness, its importance and what real forgiveness means – no limits. (Matthew 18: 21 – 35)

For many this is the most difficult Christian teaching. We are upset and hurt on a daily basis and each hurt can leave its mark. Worse still many struggle under heavy loads – even from childhood.

Can we really forgive those who have inflicted especially grave injuries upon us?

Yet Jesus says if we can’t forgive, we cannot expect God to forgive us. In the “Our Father” prayer we read “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”

If we harbour resentment perhaps hatred, we damage ourselves and cannot be all that we could be.

Forgiveness is an essential part of love. Love comes from God who is love – and Mercy. As Pope Frances has said, “The name of God is Mercy.”

But a healing and support network is needed – the Church. A loving Community is essential to heal our brokenness caused by a love deficit. Also to help us to grow in love which is essential for our wholeness. Wholeness can be seen as being who we are in God’s loving vision for us.

What is Love?

Jesus Christ is love incarnate.

The cross is the greatest symbol of love for all time.

Metanoia is needed for this new way of living– a complete change of heart which culminates in Baptism. Baptism is to be immersed in the family of the loving God. Daughters and sons of God who is love. Brothers and sisters of Christ who embodies love and temples of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to love.

Family, forgiveness and empowerment lead to wholeness and shields us from the antitheses of love.

Today, the 16^th August, the Catholic Church celebrates the great ‘feast’ of the Assumption. This is the belief held universally in the Church that Mary the mother of Jesus was taken up – assumed – into heaven without physically dying.

The gospel reading for today is Luke 1:29 – 56 which gives an account of Mary, a teenager and pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit, visiting her cousin Elizabeth Elizabeth who was much older and also pregnant. She was expecting John the Baptist who was later the herald for Jesus and who baptised Jesus in the river Jordan. This event would change the world forever. In the moment of his baptism the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove and the voice of God was heard audibly declaring Jesus is the beloved Son.

There are many things about this meeting between Mary and her cousin which are remarkable but what stands out is the verse, “Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The historian Luke who would have heard of this account much later, records a definite and significant spiritual experience for both Elizabeth and her unborn baby John.

Every mother to be knows when her baby begins to move. Usually around 18 – 20 weeks or as early as 16 weeks for a subsequent pregnancy, or perhaps even 13 weeks. The movements of the baby can be felt when a hand is placed on the mother’s tummy around 24 weeks.

We know that around 25 / 26 weeks babies react to external noise. The baby can be affected by alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and many other things besides.

What is remarkable about this story is that John sensed spiritually the presence of Jesus we are told.

Christians and many others, believe that we are body mind and spirit. The different aspects of a person interact for good or ill. We are created in the image and likeness of our Creator Father God. St Augustine said;  

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

We are spiritual beings.

In the UK 8,745,508 abortions were carried out from 1967 to 2014.

In 2018 there were 205,295

Do we see anyone on one knee in public for any of these lost lives?

Babies Lives Matter

If you have been affected by abortion, help is out there.

www.archtrust.org.uk

I came across this story which I must share. My wife and I lost a baby at birth at just over twenty two weeks. At that time in 1990 the doctors said the baby wouldn’t survive for very long on a ventilator. I baptised him and we named him in the delivery ward and later had a funeral for him. You don’t get over it. Just learn to live with it. It is a great consolation to know he is with God where we shall meet him one day.

A mother has criticised doctors who refused to give her care and said she should let her twin daughters die when she went into labour at 22 weeks.

Kayla Ibarra and her twin daughters, Luna and Ema, are now thriving at home with their older brother Noah and father Dardo.

One year on, revealing their story on her blog, the mother-of-three said the twins are “‘typical one-year-olds’ and no one would even know they were born 18 weeks premature.”

Kayla and Dardo were already parents to 18-month old Noah when they decided they would like to have another child. Both were delighted months later to find out they were expecting twin girls.

Kayla said the pregnancy felt “normal” until she noticed a small spot of blood when she went to the toilet. She called her midwife who recommended she went into hospital to make sure she didn’t have a bladder infection.

The pregnant mother rushed to hospital but had to wait four hours before seeing anyone because the nurses had “forgot” she was there.

When Kayla did eventually see a nurse, she was rushed into a backroom for a urine test and then called downstairs for an ultrasound.  

When the urine test came back clean, the mother burst into tears because she “knew this was labour.”

She continued: “I started bawling my eyes out as I was finally wheeled to the ultrasound room.

“While getting the exam done, I kept telling the tech I was having contractions. She kept telling me to relax and all would be fine. I stood up and BAM, my water broke.”

Through tears a concerned Kayla asked, “what’s going to happen to my daughters?”.

As she was pushed in a wheelchair to an upstairs room of the hospital, a nurse responded, “the babies will be born today and they will die.” 

By the time Kayla was taken back upstairs, her whole family was there waiting for her. They asked the nurse, “what do we do, what can we do?”.

However the nurse again said that “there is nothing that can be done, the twins will be born today and they will die.”

Realising they wouldn’t get the care or help Kayla and her family wanted for her twins, the family began to search for alternative hospitals with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) who would give her unborn twins a chance at life.

The family found a hospital in Ontario that was willing to help premature babies from 24 weeks, but her doctor refused to transfer Kayla to the new hospital and even refused to administer medication for her pain.

Furthermore, the doctor refused to allow Kayla to see her twins or hear their heartbeats dismissing the plea as a “waste of time,” instead saying “this [the labour] is going to be quick, let’s get it over with.’”

However, Kayla’s contractions stopped and her doctor agreed to let her rest.

Despite the fact her labour had stopped, a new doctor who had been assigned to Kayla urged her to deliver the twins the following morning through an induced labour.

However, knowing they wouldn’t intervene to save her twin girls, Kayla said: “I told him I refused to start labour again and as long as the twins are in me they are breathing and safe. He also denied me medication that would help the twins lung and brain develop.

Four days later, a shattered Kayla went into labour again at 22 weeks and two days – which was four days too early for the nearby hospital to intervene.

“I felt so defeated. I lost,” Kayla said.

Fortunately, a new doctor had been assigned to Kayla just as midwives were setting up the delivery room.

The doctor thought it was worth calling the hospital in Ontario who agreed to take the premature babies on.

Recalling the moment, Kayla said: “I felt hope. Finally, someone was going to just call and see. Within 15 minutes, he was back in my room coat on and said, ‘two hospitals agreed to take you… Soon, we were racing down the highway.”

Within hours, Kayla had given birth to Luna and Ema.

The twins barely weighed 1lb when they were born and spent a total of 115 days in the NICU, but they recovered remarkably well and were able to go home before their original due date.

Kayla said her twins have changed her life forever and she now wants the world to know premature babies can survive and can thrive.

“We went from a 0% chance of survival to celebrating over one year of life,” she added.

The survival rate for extremely premature babies in the UK has doubled over the past decade, prompting new guidance allowing doctors to try to save babies born as early as 22 weeks into a pregnancy – the age of Kayla’s now healthy and thriving twins.

The previous clinical guidance, drafted in 2008, included a presumption against attempting to provide life-saving treatment to a baby born before 23 weeks, on the basis it would not be in the child’s best interests.

In 2008 only two out of ten babies born alive at 23 weeks went on to survive. Today it is four out of ten, according to a new analysis from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine.

Furthermore, the majority of premature babies grow up to be healthy adults without any major health problems, a study revealed last year.

In a Facebook post post, Kayla recalled what a doctor said to her on day 65 of the girls’ NICU stay:

“The girls really have changed the way we view micropreemies here and in particular 22 weekers. It’s because of them that we have put certain protocols in place when dealing with micros and we have learned so much do’s and don’t’s from the girls. They have taught us so much and because of them, other 22 weekers will have the chance in our hospital. You did that, the girls did that.”

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said:

“Stories of premature babies fighting and thriving, like Luna and Ema, along with recent new guidance and advances in medicine, showcase why this issue is one that Parliament should urgently revisit. It has been over a decade since time limits were last debated fully in Parliament in 2008. 

“Independent polling from ComRes shows that 70% of women in the UK want to see the time limit for abortion reduced to 20 weeks or below. Our current abortion time limit is way out of line with the rest of Europe where the most common abortion time limit is 12 weeks.

“We support any change in law that would help lower abortion numbers and save the lives of babies in the womb.”

The Sunday Gospel in Catholic Churches this week is the parable of the wheat and the darnel about a man who sowed wheat in his field but an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat. The man’s workers noticed and wanted to uproot the weed but the owner tells them to wait until harvest time then separate the darnel and burn it. (Matthew 13. 24 – 43)

Jesus explains that the owner represents the Son of Man, the field is the world and the good seed represents those in God’s Kingdom. The darnel is the subjects of the evil one. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers the angels.

This parable helps me to answer the question which came to me while pondering the news this week, ‘where is God in the suffering, discord and disunity in the world. God created a beautiful world and we are making a mess of things. Why does God allow it?

There are those including national leaders who are part of the problem. Those who wield power and see themselves as all powerful. Those who are arrogant and indifferent to suffering, those who lie and manipulate.

But then there are those who are part of the solution. People of good will who will eventually win through, changing things for the better as they go.

In the end the darnel is burned as useless. The wheat is harvested.

God provides the opportunity to be co creators and to build a world of justice and peace which looks to heaven, our ultimate goal.

Martin Luther King said in his farewell speech in 1968 the day before his assassination, “He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

I pay tribute to John Lewis, the American civil rights activist who died aged 80 yesterday and who marched with Martin Luther King and lived to see the first black American President, Barack Obama.

The darnel can also be understood as our faults and failings which we need to correct, areas where we come up short. This is a life journey and the ‘name of God is mercy.’ (Pope Francis)

In the words of David Bowie, ‘ageing is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.’