I have just learnt that 26 residents in a care home I visited regularly have died in this Pandemic.  A man who I had got to know who worked in the laundry was in tears. Again we have to ask the question why were so many elderly people discharged into care homes from hospital without being tested for Covid 19? This is an important question for bereaved relatives who have lost loved ones and who could not be by their bedside when it most mattered.

Yes, relatives would like to make sense of this. When mistakes have been made which have caused the premature death of mum or dad an apology at least is due.

Yes, we’ve heard that it wasn’t understood how those discharged could be asymptomatic. But we know that as with colds and flu people can be infectious before symptoms emerge. Surely this is in the realms of common sense? And why did carers in homes struggle to get PPE?

On the 25^th March Unison said, “Social care staff looking after the elderly and vulnerable are ‘frightened and frustrated’ at not getting access to protective equipment.”

And why were care home deaths not included in the daily figures for deaths before the media flagged it up?

Go to this link to understand better the humanity of people in care homes. In no way is this meant as criticism of care workers but… see for yourself.

https://www.carepathways.com/anoldladyspoem.cfm

Covid 19 has brought into sharp relief so much that needs changing. Care homes yes but much else.

There are so many questions. Why is the government only now after so much vacillation recommending people wear face masks in shops. We don’t need anyone to tell us that coughs and sneezes spread diseases. Surely it should be mandatory as in Scotland? As I write there is fresh news about the likelihood of wearing of face masks being required in England.

We are now into dangerous territory as lock down is eased and schools are going back again without properly consulting teaching unions who regard a full return in September as “pure fantasy.”

 If travellers from named countries where Covid 19 figures are low can now come to the UK as from 10^th July without self isolating what might this mean?  Will no one alighting from a plane have Covid 19 or be asymptomatic? The airlines have been lobbying hard for this concerned for their businesses. Understandable, but is this a calculated gamble for economic reasons?

Could this be an opportunity to take a look at carbon emissions caused by airlines. The Guardian reported that carbon dioxide emitted by commercial flights rose by 32% between 2013 – 18

Will  missed opportunities include;

An overhaul of care for the elderly

Continuing care for the homeless – 5,400 face a return to the streets by the end of July

Infrastructure expenditure for social housing- not part of the Government’s planned expenditure.

Better rights for those in private rented accommodation.

Much good might come from this dreadful Pandemic if lessons are learned.

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POSTSCRIPT for previous post

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State for the Holy See summoned US ambassador, Callista Gimgrich, and Israel’s ambassador, Oren David, for separate discussions on the planned annexation of parts of the West Bank. The Holy See expressed concern about this and, “reiterates that the State of Israel and the State of Palestine have a right to exist and to live in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders.” 

It is a privilege to visit the Holy Land which is considered very special by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. Given the number of adherents to these monotheistic religions throughout the world the Israeli government has an awesome responsibility when it comes to shrines and places of worship and the historical importance of these places also cannot be over estimated. The quid quo pro of course is that thousands of pilgrims flock there every year – except of course during this pandemic. Foreign currency brought by pilgrims is vitally important for Jews, Palestinians and indignant Christians as I discovered on my visit this year.

For an English citizen, checkpoints, having your coach boarded and checked out and armed security personel in the streets is unfamiliar. The wall which Pope Frances prayed at on 25^th May 2014 during his visit is stark.

Christians read and pray the Jewish Scriptures contained in the Old Testament, the largest part of the Bible, everyday. The Judeo Christian legacy for Western morality and law is inescapable.

The ‘Great Commandment’ affirmed by Jesus in Mark 12. 28 – 31 and found in the Torah, (OT Deuteronomy 6.4 – 5 and Leviticus 19.18) is a central tenet of belief for Christians and Jews.  

There is also the Golden Rule ‘Do to no one what you would not wish done to you,’ which is common to main world Faiths.

Edward Kessler, the Jewish founder director of the Woolf Institute and a leading thinker and writer on interfaith relations, says the following in an article published in the Tablet, (20^th June)

“We are at a watershed moment in modern history of Israel. The proposal to annexe land in the West Bank would not only deepen division and threaten Israel’s security: it would undermine the moral basis upon which the state claims to sit.” Further he talks of this “trampling over the fundamental rights of Palestinians, with jaw dropping disdain for the values of equality, freedom and self-determination to which they (Netanyahu and Trump) give lip service.

So how does annexation of the West Bank square with loving your neighbour and treating others as you would like to be treated?

Boris Johnson should be congratulated for his stand on annexation. “I profoundly hope that annexation does not go ahead, if it does, the UK will not recognise any changes to the 1967 lines, except those agreed between both parties.” Johnson says this and describes the plan which was to be discussed last Wednesday as illegal in the Israeli newspaper ‘Yedioth Ahronoth’

This was reported by the BBC on 1^st July. The report also includes there are some 430,000 Jews living in more than 130 settlements built since Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war and that these settlements are widely considered illegal under international law.  

It is incomprehensible how the House of Lords, comprised of intelligent, educated, thinking people, there to serve the public, acted against logic and reason; against democracy and ultimately against the will of God when they voted to impose radical new abortion regulations in Northern Ireland against the express wishes of its government.

In the debate in the Lords last Monday 15^th June, pro abortion members spoke in support of the human rights of the mother.

Is a baby in the womb any less human than its mother? No doctor or in fact anyone with an ounce of common sense would say so. Is the baby part of the mother’s body? Biologically no. Of course not.

Is the baby in the womb a living human being? A human being capable of feeling pain and even picking up the emotions of the mother and external sounds surrounding the mother. Of Course.

So if the baby in the mother’s womb is human, alive and separate from the mother why is it that the unborn child is afforded no human rights under the law? How can it be that human rights are attributed only to women and not to the weakest and most vulnerable and voiceless –  unborn babies? An unborn baby under threat, if it had a voice would shout – let me live!

Here we have a deathly paradox. On the one hand the immutable universal law of nature, ‘natural law’ according to which life begins at conception. The universal law of nature is that the mother cares for and shields the life in her womb. Will nurture that life to full term and then if at all possible suckle that life providing the baby with the love and all that is needed for the baby to grow into a happy and healthy child.

On the other hand human laws to the contrary

Any mother who exercises her man made human right to take the life of the baby in her womb does violence not only to the baby but to herself body mind and spirit. She negates the maternal instincts given to her by nature.

When the immutable natural law is contradicted by human laws which have no validity there is a contradiction or clash which leads to disaster.

Dorothy Sayers in her seminal book “Mind of the Maker” puts it like this. “The universal moral law (or natural law of humanity) is discoverable, like any other law of nature, by experience. It cannot be promulgated, it can only be ascertained, because it is a question not of opinion but of fact. When it has been ascertained, a moral code can be drawn up to direct human behaviour and prevent people, as far as possible, from doing violence to their own nature.”

The more closely the moral code agrees with the natural law, the more it makes for freedom in human behaviour: the more widely it departs from natural law, the more it tends to enslave and to produce the catastrophes called ‘judgements of God’.”

Those who stand by and watch injustice, condone it and at their peril.

“They came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.” Martin Niemoller

If a baby in the womb, the most vulnerable in our society, can be killed no life is safe. Already disability is a factor when abortion is considered and soon sexual preference. Will this change how society views disabled people? What about the old and infirm – euthanasia? If human life is expendable at any stage it is soon expendable at every stage.

The world is facing a covid 19 pandemic. The lives lost come nowhere near the lives lost in the pandemic of abortion. Last year in England and Wales alone there were 209,519 abortions, higher than at any time since the 1967 abortion act.

For those affected by abortion help is out there. Contact SPUC or LIFE to find out about speaking with someone who can help.

Remember always, there is no sin greater than God’s love.

“The name of God is Mercy.” Pope Francis

This is what the Scout movement has done for me.

• Making friends, some lifelong.
• Sense of belonging
• Sense of achievement
• Greater self worth and personal pride
• A love of the outdoors and camping
• Holidays I would not have had
• Skills I would never have acquired
• Abilities – E.G. swimming
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Self reliance
• Endurance
• Enhanced values and code of social behaviour

I am proud to have encouraged my children to be part of the scouting movement and glad that my children have done likewise with my grandchildren.

The positive impact on my life as a working class boy and later father cannot be measured. See the above list which could be expanded and elaborated to fill a book.

To target the Statue of Baden Powell in spite of his enduring legacy to millions including black and ethnic children and young people worldwide is self defeating and foolish for any otherwise laudable cause.  

‘I Can’t breath’ has become the rallying cry for all those demonstrating over the illegal and immoral killing of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin on 25^th May with the involvement of  three other police officers all of whom have since been sacked and Chauvin charged for unlawful killing with the other officers now also facing charges.

This terrible event is seen to point to institutional racism among the police in America. The story of peaceful demonstrations hijacked by rioters and looters has been the number one news item this week.

This should be of great concern to us all. This outcry has been a long time in coming and clearly shows that a great deal still needs to be done to build a just and fair society in America and elsewhere for all citizens.

Prudence in avoiding the spread of C19 with its potential for loss of life has been overtaken by the feelings of demonstrators especially in America, Australia and the UK. 

 But black lives matter everywhere.    

I was reminded recently of the persecution of black Christians in Nigeria by Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen, Islamic Jihadists, where 620 Christians have been murdered in the first four months of this year and 6000 in the last five years. Since 2009 Boko Haram has displaced 2.3 million people. Yes black people in America and other Western countries matter but do black Christians in Africa and elsewhere matter less?

For good reason the protests in America have captured the headlines but has news coverage in the West been commensurate with the level of persecution suffered by black people of Faith? It is reported that Catholic bishops in Nigeria have condemned the federal government for failing to protect its citizens 47 % of whom are Christians and who are not included in state structures and levels of administration including the police and the armed forces.

A report Commissioned by Jeremy Hunt last year (then foreign Secretary) and carried out by the Right reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, was featured by the BBC. It was stated that 1 in 3 suffer religious persecution and that persecution of Christians had reached genocidal proportions. Nigeria is but one example. An internet search will reveal how widespread and terrible this persecution is.

The Golden Rule observed by the main world Faiths is relevant here, “treat others as you would like others to treat you.”

Yes, black people matter – everywhere.

Why? because God loves everyone. God is Love.

Pope Francis has just now (30^th May) on the eve of Pentecost, when Christians celebrate the Holy Spirit of God coming to the world in a manner never seen before, live streamed the rosary to holy shrines dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus throughout the world. The five glorious mysteries were recited by people intimately connected, as are we all, to the current covid 19 pandemic. Prayers were said that Mary ask her Son for an end to the suffering and pain all are experiencing at this time, just as she asked Jesus at Cana in Galilee, at a wedding, to help out when the wine ran out. As a result many litres of water became the best wine ever.  

As the Church prays for the ending of the Pandemic we focus on the future. The Pope prayed that money spent on weapons of war may instead be spent to prevent this ever happening again. The phrase uttered about the first world war that this was a war to end all wars (H G Wells), can be re applied – that this is a pandemic to end all pandemics. But with all such slogans good intentions must translate into action. We have seen many wars since 1918. May we not see other worldwide battles with pathogens.   

There has been an out pouring of new wine already in the solidarity shown within and between nations, esteem for those on the front line and most people pulling together and making great sacrifices so that we can, as a society and a world win this war against an unseen enemy which threatens us all, and start building a just and fair world. A world where the natural habitat of humanity, our creatures and ecosystems are respected and not exploited.

This means a change of heart. A new vision. A metanoia and re alignment with the Creator’s loving plan.

The pandemic has raised questions about the World Health Organisation. This UN agency established in 1948 with what has been described as an advisory role, might become even more effective in promoting the health of the world’s populations if given a more proactive brief, a broader remit and greater authority. This is a time for better funding for the agency, not less.

There are many around the world exploring new vaccines. To what extent should the WHO take initiatives here?

Historians will seek to answer questions about the beginnings of this unexpected pandemic. Could more have been done to slow down its spread throughout the world and how did it emerge? These questions are important because it would be wise to be prepared…

This pandemic has not happened in a vacuum. Animal trade and encroachment into animal habitats have come into focus. Farming large numbers of animals and poultry close together and the destruction of forests to accommodate more of the same is a cause of climate change and this is by far the greatest threat to the health of humanity the world has ever known. Should the WHO look at this?

The pandemic could be said to tap into the more fundamental issue of how we look after creation.

If we step outside the Creators plan for this wonderful world, bequeathed to humanity in love, then we bring calamity upon ourselves. A simple example would be the need we have for the force of gravity. If we ignore the pull of gravity and jump off a sky scraper we die.

The bible tells us how to be happy and take care of ourselves body mind and spirit. This is fine tuned and spelled out in the moral and social teaching of the Church. Why not make a list of some of this moral and social teaching and alongside side each entry write what happens when it is ignored – to us and to the world.

Try Genesis 1. 26 – 31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was good.” (v31)

Last Thursday 14^th May Pope Frances and other world religious leaders called for a day of prayer and fasting to save humanity from the pandemic, to enlighten scientists and heal the sick.

This is another major step forward for world faiths in working together and something very positive coming from this terrible situation facing the world. It is so important that people of faith stand together.  

Yet what does this day of prayer mean? Are we praying for divine intervention to end the pandemic?

When we pray with faith it is to a God who loves humanity. To God who knows everything, sees our plight and hears our prayer. The God who created the world, the galaxies and who is author of all that is.

I know of someone who did not allow her family to call an ambulance when she caught covid 19 saying that God would heal her. Two days later she couldn’t breathe and died even though her family had said God also heals through the medical services.

God is in the courage and perseverance of doctors and nurses who risk their lives every day to treat those with covid 19. Some have died. God is in the science that will find a vaccine and in the politicians and scientists who are trying to find a way forward.

God works providentially through circumstances and situations. The coincidence which is really a God incidence.

Groups such as Cor et Lumen Christi, a catholic charismatic group in their miracle rallies (see link) would advise those who believe they have been healed to get it checked out with the doctor before coming off medication.

So prayer is putting everything in God’s hands. We pray as though everything depends upon God and act as though everything depends upon us. When we pray we may have a sense of what we can and do ourselves. God has given us free will. We can be courageous, we can use our gifts and talents for others, we can use science. Even those without a religious faith can pray and rely upon a higher power to do what they can’t manage in their own strength. Witness the 12 steps of Alcoholic Anonymous – “come to believe in a power greater than ourselves…” (Step 2)

Yes we ask for God’s help to keep us safe as individuals but we have to play our part. We may ask God to keep us from covid 19 but if we travel on crowded public transport without gloves or mask to a place of work where we can’t self distance we not doing this.

In the meantime as I said in my last post, covid 19 is revealing flawed social care services and a lack of justice. As a community we must ensure it is safe to travel for all and a duty of care is exercised in all work places of work. Those more vulnerable whether due to the economic necessity of going to work or those in care homes must get the help they need to stay safe. We’re all in this together as the saying goes.

We need to get behind the steering wheel and find better ways of living recognising our interdependence and interconnectedness.  May almighty God empower us, lead us, inspire us and bring healing to those suffering from this pandemic directly and indirectly and may we, with God’s help change things for the better when this is all over.

www.coretlumenchristi.org

Covid 19 is holding up a mirror to us all and in so many ways. Care homes in the UK have been at breaking point with 100,000 staff vacancies and evidence of serious underfunding. Yet NHS directives on 19^th March and 2^nd April told care homes to expect patients no longer benefitting from hospital care. Now a third of all coronavirus deaths in England and Wales are happening in care homes. Official statistics show 4,343 deaths from the virus in the two weeks to 24^th April. This raises many questions. 84% of care home beds in England are privately owned and many staff are migrant workers from poorer countries on low pay it would seem. Hopefully, covid 19 has exposed the crises in our care homes for many who may not have been aware.

On the BBC news in the last few days we saw how casual workers in New York are joining the ranks of the homeless and sleeping on subway trains. In the UK there is a homeless crisis also. This raises questions about the social care available in the rich America and elswhere. Again covid 19 is trumpeting social inequality and injustice.

And yet again, according to the Jesuit Refugee Service covid 19 brings into sharp relief a broken Asylum system. The Home Office is struggling to function in the pandemic. Doctors and Nurses seeking asylum are banned from working in spite of the obvious need for all hands on deck. Why not grant them temporary grant of Leave to Remain they say? 

The challenges are there for all to see. Surely we must take stock and deal with the underlying issues of lack of social care for the most vulnerable. It is upon this that a country – any country, can be judged.

Things can’t go back how they were before – Carpe diem.    

One of the recent posts which have been forwarded to me shows a cute little girl of about two with hands joined, eyes closed and head bowed in prayer. The caption reads “Dear God. Could we please uninstall 2020 and re – install it?? It has a virus.!!

The pandemic Covid – 19, while in itself a global disaster on an unprecedented scale, has brought out the best in people and nations throughout the world.  So called lockdown in many countries with whole populations isolating at home has come about due to a respect for life, especially the old and most vulnerable who are more likely to perish if they contract the coronavirus. To save life at any cost is the driving force for expenditure on the NHS in the UK and health systems of other countries at this time. As we know many doctors and nurses and front line workers have paid the ultimate price as I pointed out in my last post.

Each and every person is precious and unique and has an irreplaceable part to play in making the world a better place for all. Each life is worth saving. Let’s think about how wonderful we are.

Every human being begins to exist through the meeting of an ovum and a sperm. Inside the fertilised ovum at the moment of conception there are already 23 chromosomes from each parent. Each chromosome contains genes. So inside something just a hundredth the size of a pinhead, are 22,000 genes. Every gene is a factory. So there are 22,000 factories. Each has its own job to do; each has its own part to play in the formation of another human being.

At the moment of my conception ‘I’ began to exist. From that moment I began to develop. My heart was already formed and working three weeks later, before my mother knew she was pregnant.

‘It was you who created my inmost self,

and put me together in my mother’s womb;

for all these mysteries I thank you:

for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works.

Psalm 139. 13 – 14

April this year marks the passing of the Abortion Act in 1968. According to the Society for Unborn Children (SPUC) website “the most recent figure for the total number of abortions throughout the UK since 1967/68 is approximately 9.5 million. Add to that, at the very least, 3 million embryos destroyed through IVF procedures over the past three decades, it makes twelve and a half million babies destroyed in total.”

In a BBC report a few weeks ago it was estimated the worst case scenario for the coronavirus could be 250, 000. It was headlined, “Coronavirus: UK changes course amid death toll fears.”

Yet the figure for abortion and discarded embryos in 2018 alone, the latest figure, is 380,000 – a much higher death toll. (SPUC)

So we have on the one hand an immense and commendable effort to save lives in this pandemic and on the other hand and an unrelenting death toll of unborn babies.

Slogans such as “a woman’s right to choose,” and “every child a wanted child,” point to an ideology predicated on the assertion that mothers have the right to take the life of their unborn child.

Women who felt they had no way out of an unwanted pregnancy other than abortion are suffering in untold ways because of their so called “choice.” The aftermath women stumble into following abortion is unimaginable. Woman too are the victims of abortion.

Things must not continue as before when this pandemic is over. A new respect for human rights. A new search for peace in the world. Addressing the refugee crisis and a serious quest to end world hunger and climate change – and –  new respect for life from the moment of conception to death throughout the world.

Ending the pandemic of abortion.

For those affected by this post with regard to abortion please contact www.archtrust.org.uk