Are we equipping young people to be pro-life against the odds?

Defending traditional marriage -
an act of politics or not?

Today the BBC reports that Education Secretary Michael Gove is to examine whether the Catholic Education Service (CES) has infringed political impartiality rules, by circulating a letter to nearly 400 Catholic schools in the state sector asking them to back the Coalition for Marriage petition against homosexual "marriage".  (As far as I can make out, this is the same letter that was read in all Catholic parishes in March.)  The CES says that reading this letter to pupils is just part of the Catholic school's legally permitted remit "to teach matters relating to sex and relationships education, including the importance of marriage, in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church".  The Department of Education fears that the CES has encouraged schools to infringe their "responsibility under law to ensure children are insulated from political activity and campaigning in the classroom".  (Note: the petition is only intended to be signed by those over the age of 16, so we are, I hope, talking about sixth-form pupils.)

There's quite a lot to mull over in this situation.  Firstly, I note with interest that the DoE spokesperson says "While faith schools, rightly, have the freedom to teach about sexual relations and marriage in the context of their own religion, that should not extend to political campaigning".  Is this political campaigning?  To me it sounds more like, as the CES put it, "a positive affirmation of marriage, as is the Coalition for Marriage's online petition".  It is the Government who have decided to take a socially and legally-recognised institution and turn it into something else, something it has never through the ages been recognised by anyone as being.  The definition of marriage should not be the stuff of political debate and vote-chasing; if voicing an opinion in favour of traditional marriage has become a "political" thing to do, the Government have made it so.

There is, as so often, also the implication that supporting traditional marriage is part of a package of discrimination against gay people.  It is not. The CES says, "The Equality Act 2010 applies to all schools and we are fully supportive of the Act. It is central to Catholic teaching that all individuals should be treated with respect and dignity."  Yes, you can oppose the redefinition of marriage without being homophobic or treating pupils with same-sex attraction differently from others.

This also rings of today's widespread secular dogma that religious beliefs are all well and good - as long as they do not make any difference whatsoever to the way an individual relates to the society around him.  They must remain purely "private and individual views".  No genuine religious belief can ever remain thus, of course, by its very nature.  Whilst I continue to think that the CES' actions in this case should not be described as "political", it does throw into sharp relief an attitude that perhaps many Catholics themselves are dangerously close to taking on board these days.  "Of course I believe this and that, but I wouldn't impose my beliefs on you."  Well, no, you can't impose or indoctrinate.  You can, however, witness and speak out; you have every legal right to do so; you have an evangelical obligation to do so.

What is the point of having Catholic schools if they cannot offer a clear and challenging witness to their pupils of what it means to be a faithful Catholic?  I notice that the BBC makes sure to point out that the schools in question are state-funded.  Well, they're still Catholic.  Either withdraw state funding from them or let them be Catholic.  My children have all come through the Catholic school system and I am grateful for it; they were good, supportive schools.  However, many Catholic parents these days do not see the clear benefits of sending their children to Catholic state schools and if wishy-washy catechesis is to be the only incitement to do so, then I can understand how they feel.

One school at the centre of this row is St Philomena's in Carshalton.  The BBC, in a beautifully unbiased paragraph, tells us that "Earlier this week, Pinknews.co.uk reported that students at St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls in Carshalton were 'encouraged' to sign the anti-equality pledge by the school's headmistress". Apparently a sixth-form pupil remarked, "In our assembly for the whole sixth form you could feel people bristling as she explained parts of the letter and encouraged us to sign the petition... She said things about gay marriage and civil partnerships being unnatural. It was just a really outdated, misjudged and heavily biased presentation."

Now, I know very little about St Philomena's, other than that orthodox Catholic friends send their polite and very pleasant teenage daughter there.  I'm sure it's a very good school; the Headmistress evidently did speak clearly and unambiguously about the teachings of the Church; and the sixth-form pupil quoted may not have been typical in her her views. Perhaps the pupil was remarking on the mode of presentation rather than the content.

Having said all this, however, I fear that what this sixth-former said would be echoed by young people in many Catholic schools across the country.  Are our Catholic schools in fact producing well-catechised young people, who know the Faith thoroughly on the formal level and have been given every encouragement to develop their faith on a personal level?  The second I believe is probably true in most Catholic schools, but without the first - solid orthodox catechesis - that personal faith development is going to go awry.

Our society gives more evidence every day of its determination to marginalise those of religious faith and to positively strip them of any meaningful opportunity to live out that faith.  In such a society it is more vitally important than ever that Christian schools have a robust catechetical curriculum.  Otherwise the pressures on poorly-instructed young Catholics to compromise will just be too great, and they will not see any reason not to do so.  The areas in which this is most likely to happen are marriage and pro-life issues.

Normalising sexual promiscuity in the young

The BBC news website today carries a story about plans to widen over-the-counter access to the contraceptive pill.  A study by NHS South East concludes that the provision of the Pill by pharmacists, with no GP prescription necessary, should be widened from the five pharmacies currently offering the service.  These pharmacies are in Southwark and Lambeth, two boroughs which apparently have the highest teenage conception rates in London and some of the highest in the whole of Europe.  It seems that there has been a significant drop in emergency contraception in these areas since over-the-counter contraceptive pills have been made available.

This of course does not mean that women's behaviour with regard to casual sex has changed, simply that they are preparing better for it in advance, which as far as modern sex education goes seems to be the end and only goal.  Even that does not seem to be happening as effectively as it could.  In fact, the BBC reports, "While one pharmacy saw a significant drop in the use of emergency contraception after the pilot was launched, the report also found that a large proportion of women did not return for a subsequent pill supply - having gone back to emergency contraception. Many said this was because they did not have a regular partner."

This is enough of a shame when we are talking about adult or near-adult women, but becomes positively sinister when we read that the same NHS report suggests widening the over-the-counter service to include girls as young as 13 - which, of course, is already happening in the Isle of Wight and Manchester.  Just how quick, convenient and "normal" can we make it for under-age girls to have sex?  As one user of the South London service told the BBC, "It is a quick way to get contraception, and it is very private, unlike a clinic where everyone will know what you are going there for."  Talk as much as you like about guidelines for pharmacists and the questions they will be expected to ask before giving out the Pill, the fact is that this scheme intends to make it substantially easier to obtain the contraceptive pill and that is what will happen.

So here we go again. As ever, the answer to teenage pregnancy rates is... encouraging teenagers to ask for contraception.  Contraception that is not only easier and easier to obtain at an ever younger age, but is also easier and easier to obtain without parental knowledge. The net effect is that we are progressively normalising casual sexual behaviour for girls and boys who are effectively still children.

A Department of Health spokesperson has said, "Young people should think carefully before they have sex". And yet no-one thinks to point out to them that there are alternatives to "contraception and sexually transmitted infections".  We could try that much-mocked word, ABSTINENCE, for a start.  The comeback to that one, of course, is always, "But they're going to do it anyway so we have to make sure they do it safely".  Well of course they're going to do it when we're making so much effort to show them it's normal and easy... in fact, it's the done thing and anyone who doesn't do it is, well, a bit odd.

There is no solid evidence that this approach works, anyway.  The BBC reports that "Currently it is not known if the service has helped reduce teenage pregnancies as conception data for the last three years is not available" and quotes Dr Peter Saunders as saying, "There is no clear evidence from this study that it will reduce unplanned pregnancy and abortion and there is a real risk that, by encouraging more risk-taking behaviour, it could fuel the epidemic of sexually transmitted disease. Without comprehensive research on real outcomes this strategy could well be like pouring petrol on flames. We should instead be focusing on evidence-based strategies aimed at bringing about real behaviour change" (my emphases).

After I had read the BBC report, an article in the latest Pro Life Times caught my eye. Its topic is a SPUC conference earlier this year where Professor David Paton gave Northern Ireland politicans "a stark warning not to copy England's strategy to reduce teenage pregnancies".  Northern Ireland, as we are well aware, has had much more restrictive abortion laws to England, a lower provision of family planning services and "a stated goal to decrease the rate of teenage sexual activity" (hurrah!).  Despite this, said Professor Paton, rates of both teenage pregnancy (abortion plus births for under 16s) and sexually transmitted infections in Northern Ireland are less than a third of those in England.  Unfortunately this could change, as Northern Ireland has started to emulate England in the past decade with regard to easier access to birth control for teenagers and in its sex education.  The result of its new strategies?  From the available data, none of them appear to have had a positive result, says Prof Paton.  "In fact, the under-17 birth rate... was higher in 2010 than when the [new] policy started in 2002."

Isn't it time, at long last, to stop flogging a dead horse and try a new approach to sex education and reproductive health?  As responsible adults who care about the health and welfare of our upcoming generations, I would suggest that it is our positive duty to do so. Instead of applying plasters to the wounds created by our current behaviours, we should - we must - suggest modifying those behaviours themselves.  It can be done.

"Except for death, no-one will kiss me"

Hat tip to John Smeaton for this touching video - an "interview" with an unborn child aware that he is going to be aborted.  Just a word of warning, though - it isn't gory (the images it contains are beautiful) and the abortion itself is not described; but, because it focuses on the humanity and the unique individuality of the child in a very emotionally immediate way, it could be upsetting for a woman who has been through an abortion to watch.

The "interview" is in fact the poem Interview with an Unborn Child by Dr. Mojdeh Shirvanianear.  When watching bear in mind that, as Brad Mattes of the Life Issues Institute says, you are hearing the child's words "within the context of the deaths of 1.2 million babies every year".

Promoting a positive view of disability

I've just been posting over at Crawley Catenian about the charity that the Crawley Catenian Circle is going to be supporting in 2012-13 and decided I'd like to mention it on this blog too, because it's one whose work I very much admire and which is very much in the pro-life spirit.

The Circle will be supporting Just Different.  This is a charity set up in 2008 by Toby Hewson, a young man suffering from cerebral palsy, to educate children and young people about the world of disability and thus promote positive social attitudes towards disabled people.  Just Different take interactive workshops on disability - written, produced and presented by disabled people - into mainstream schools.  One of Horsham's primary schools, St John's, recently enjoyed one of their workshops which was very well received.

Toby Hewson, Just Different's founder

Edek and I have found from our experience with our daughter Aila that out of the many challenges facing disabled people, one of the most crippling can be the fear of whether other people will be able to relate to them.  Will those they meet be able to see past the wheelchair to the "ordinary" person within?  How will this affect their working relationships?  How easy will it be to make friends?  Unfortunately their fears are not always unfounded, but this isn't necessarily because people bear ill-will towards them or are prejudiced.  Often it is because of simple misunderstanding which means that others aren't quite sure what to do, say or expect.

By working with young people, Just Different is tackling this problem at grass roots level.  A generation of youngsters growing up today with an understanding and appreciation of disabled people will lead to a more genuinely inclusive society tomorrow.

Just Different offer their workshops free of formal charge, although they ask a suggested donation from the schools they visit.  They are keen to keep things on this basis and avoid charging large fees which many might find unaffordable, thus restricting access to their life-changing message.  However they need financial support - to, in their own words, "pay for the recruitment and training of disabled presenters, the travel costs associated with reaching the schools, workshop equipment and workshop development, so that we can bring about the changes we feel so passionately about."  They are therefore seeking voluntary forms of financial giving to support their costs.

To read more about Just Different, visit www.justdifferent.org.

"We see a world in which difference is always valued. The earlier children and young people begin to learn about disability, the more likely they are to just accept it as a normal part of the world they live in for the rest of their lives. JustDifferent workshops demonstrate to children and young people that disabled people can achieve, participate and lead normal lives."

By working towards a society where disability is accepted as a normal part of the world we live in and where all and sundry accept that disabled people can lead happy, worthwhile lives just like everyone else, we are working towards one in which the pressure to abort or euthanase whole sections of society will have been consigned to a less enlightened period of our human history...

BBC to broadcast from an abortion clinic

Earlier this week The Independent (amongst others) reports on an upcoming broadcast (date to be confirmed) from an abortion clinic by journalist Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Radio 5 Live. This is an...interesting and very worrying prospect as the report will not be talking about the two sides of the argument but, as Ms. Derbyshire herself says; "Our point on that day is to bring new insights into areas of British life." They will only be visiting one clinic which will make it very hard for to remain unbiased as they will only be interviewing people from that particular clinic and not seeking an opinion or insight from anyone else. Whilst I'm quite sure that the interviews with staff will be pretty searching given the recent discoveries by the Daily Telegraph about some clinics in the UK performing abortions because the parents wanted a child of a different gender I will admit to being apprehensive about the whole thing. Although I don't know what they will ask or say and we should, certainly, always hope and pray for the best I am concerned that this report might be used (either by the clinic being interviewed or others) as a way to advertise their 'services'. That abortion might be presented as just another normal part of British life (not shown as the terrible act it truly is) and this is simply where it happens. That being said I shouldn't make rash judgements and will pray hard that I am proved wrong.

Thanks everyone!

Aila's dad does his bit
in the kitchen!

The "cobs, cakes and cards" bacon breakfast event at St John's went very well this morning; on behalf of Aila and all the family, I'd like to say a HUGE "thank you" to everyone who...

 ...baked, fried, sliced, served, sold, bought, ate...

...or supported us in any way whatsoever!

Nearly £300 was raised for Aila's Fund and, as ever, the kindness and fellowship were heartening. God is good.

Let us pray and pray and pray

Sometimes it seems that we are facing insurmountable obstacles in our quest to proclaim the Gospel of Life.  Sometimes the task seems futile; we will never change anyone's mind, the tide of public opinion is too strongly turned against us.  Sometimes we are alarmed by the hostility of the opposition.  Worst of all, sometimes the division in our own ranks discourages us, because it seems that even within the Church there are so many dissenting and disagreeing voices and not a little capitulation to secular, morally relativistic values.

As usual our wonderful Holy Father knows what to say and how to shine a certain beam of Truth into our situation.  We must simply pray, and trust.  Prayer was the first reaction of the early Church at the "Little Pentecost", Pope Benedict pointed out during his Wednesday catechesis this week.  When Peter and John are released from prison for preaching the Gospel they return to their brethren, who, as the Holy See Press office (reporting on the Holy Father's catechesis) tells us, "did not reflect on how to react or defend themselves, or on what measures to adopt; rather, 'in that moment of trial they all raised their voices together to God', Who replied by sending the Holy Spirit."

The Vatican Information Service continues, " 'This was the unanimous and united prayer of the whole community, which was facing persecution because of Jesus', the Pope explained. It involved the community 'because the experiences of the two Apostles did not concern only them, but the entire Church. In suffering persecution for Jesus' sake, the community not only did not give way to fear and division, but was profoundly united in prayer'.

"When believers suffer for the faith, 'unity is consolidated rather than undermined, because it is supported by unshakeable prayer. The Church must not fear the persecutions she is forced to suffer in her history, but must trust always, as Jesus did in Gethsemane, in the presence, help and strength of God, invoked in prayer'."

In prayer, we are encouraged and strengthened.  In prayer, we learn to see our trials as "part of a plan of love in which the final victory over evil, sin and death truly is that of goodness, grace, life and God".  In prayer, we are profoundly united with each other, because we begin to see with God's eyes and set aside our personal opinions, needs and prejudices.  This seeing with God's eyes means we can evaluate events correctly, because "in prayer, meditating on Sacred Scripture in the light of the mystery of Christ helps us to interpret current reality as part of the history of salvation which God enacts in the world".

It is only through prayer that we can become opened to be channels of the Holy Spirit, which is so important because only in and through His power are we enabled to "become a force for the transformation of reality, changing the hearts, minds and lives of men and bringing the radical novelty of the Gospel".

Thank you, Papa B, for reminding us that in any circumstance, our very first reaction must be to fall to our knees and pray.  We entrust all pro-life causes, the unity and integrity of the Church, the world and all its souls, here and now and always to God and to the intercession of Our Lady.

Particular causes you might like to raise in prayer right now:

The two Glasgow midwives who were told that they had no conscientious right to object to supervising abortions have appealed against the court's decision.  SPUC are underwriting their legal costs.  Read more here.

Doctors who refuse to prescribe contraception to unmarried women or provide sex-change operations may risk being struck off the medical register.

Kerbside vigils against abortion are being held across the country on 28 April under the auspices of SPUC.

And, of course and always, let's pray for vocations to the priesthood, particularly on Vocations Sunday (29 April).  May God send us many courageous men to lead the way in proclaiming the Gospel of Life!

Father of all,
in the name of Jesus Christ
who came not to be served but to serve,
grant us the grace of many new vocations to the priesthood in our diocese.
Give us men after your own heart who,
following the example of the Good Shepherd,
are willing to joyfully lay down their lives
in your service and for your glory.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Forced sterilisations - what we can do

You will, I'm sure, have read the BBC news story by Natalia Antelava about forced sterilisations in Uzbekistan, which appeared on the "Magazine" section of its news website on 12 April.  Although sterilisation is not officially part of Uzbekistan law, it appears that doctors are being given quotas of women to sterilise each month and that this not infrequently happens via hysterectomy following a Caesarean section - with the woman waking up to find that she no longer has a womb and will not be able to choose to have more children (or not realising what has happened until she tries to add to her family).

Other women are pressured to undergo a sterilisation procedure. To quote from Antelava's article, "On paper, sterilisations should be voluntary, but women don't really get a choice," says a senior doctor from a provincial hospital, who wished to remain unnamed. "It's very easy to manipulate a woman, especially if she is poor. You can say that her health will suffer if she has more children. You can tell her that sterilisation is best for her. Or you can just do the operation."

The reason for this sterilisation programme is, of course, population control, but apparently several medical professionals have claimed it is "also a bizarre short-cut to lowering maternal and infant mortality rates" and improving Uzbekistan's standing in international league tables.

Uzbekistan's human rights record is notoriously shocking and even the women who have dared to speak about what has happened to them are at great risk, let alone foreign journalists or human rights activists.  So what can we do?

As far as direct and immediate action is concerned, international pressure needs to be brought to bear.  Islam Karimov, the President of Uzbekistan, once a "pariah" in the Western World, has recently been brought back in from the cold, with the USA and EU lifting sanctions including a US ban on arms sales.  This seems to be for reasons connected to national or military interests; for example, Nato uses Uzbekistan as one of its access routes to Afghanistan when transporting troops and supplies.

Antelava reports that Western dignitaries visiting the country recently have remained largely silent on the country's human rights record.  She quotes Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, as saying "Karimov has managed to get to the point in his relationship with the West when there are no consequences for his actions and human rights abuses. There is a deafening silence when it comes to human rights. Reports of forced sterilisation add urgency to breaking this silence."

Avaaz have launched a petition that you can sign urging US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to reintroduce pressure on Karimov.  Ms Clinton is not known for her support of pro-life causes (to say the least) but in this case - ironically enough - her concern for women's rights, much as pro-lifers might sometimes disagree with the way in which she perceives these, brings her onto the pro-life side.  You can sign the petition here.

Family life is worth protecting and nurturing

Long-term, we come back to the point made by Peter Saunders and quoted in the previous post on this blog.  We need to work for a global change of mindset.  It isn't just Karimov's mind that needs changing, because - if we are honest and clear-eyed about it - this is just the extreme end of a continuum that many modern-day societies sit on somewhere.  We don't force sterilisations or abortions, but we subscribe to many of the same ideas about population control and family size.  We don't perform medical procedures on women against their will, but we do allow all sorts of pressures to bear on them when they are trying to make decisions about pregnancy.  We say we are a country of free speech in which individuals can make their own informed decisions without fear of physically violent reprisal, but when we debate issues such as abortion then enormous amounts of damaging verbal vitriol are often released. 

Swerdlow feels that Uzbekistan's attempt to manipulate its position in international league tables by underhand means is "typical of dictatorships that need to construct a narrative built on something other than the truth" - but how often do we do this ourselves when we allow our support for "women's rights" to ignore those of the unborn child?  There is a balance here that needs to be found and I don't think that either Uzbekistan or the USA and Britain have it right.

Euthanasia, abortion and population control - misconceptions

Christian Medical Comment carries another good post today, on the subject of demographics and euthanasia.  As usual Peter Saunders has an array of facts and figures at his fingertips, which you can read here.

The essence of his argument is that most of our modern societies are at a crossroads.  Thanks to increased lifespans and smaller families, we are faced with growing numbers of older people in our populations and proportionately falling numbers of younger, working-aged ones to support them.  What do we do about the resulting pressures on our social and medical care systems?  Encourage people to have even fewer children in order to contain the population?  Put forward euthanasia as the socially-responsible alternative to being a burden in one's old age?

Despite protestations by those in favour of euthanasia that there would be safeguards ensuring that only the terminally ill are helped to die, one can easily imagine that the pressures to revise those safeguards would become stronger with every report of old people left wallowing unfed in their filth in some underfunded, badly-staffed geriatric ward or care home.  Apparently Minette Marin of the Sunday Times already wrote a year ago, "old people who, entirely of their own free will, decide to take their lives without pressure from anyone else [? why are they doing it then? - there must be pressure from somewhere, because it isn't human instinct to want to die without reason] are, I think, to be admired and thanked. They are sparing themselves and their families a great deal of suffering and are relieving those around them and the welfare state of a burden [ah, so there's your pressure after all]. Surely that is an honourable act."

Mr Saunders - pointing out, by the way, that "it is rich people in the affluent West, rather than the poor in the Global South" (the latter tend to live in societies where age and experience are valued and respected) "who say they can’t afford to look after their dependents and are clamouring for euthanasia" - puts forward his own concept of what it is to act honourably. "The real answer is not euthanasia. The real answer is in our grasp, but it requires a completely different mindset to that which has led us, in our reckless pursuit of affluence and personal peace to mortgage our present, bankrupt our futures, and see those who rely on us as a burden rather than a privileged responsibility.

"We need instead, as a society, to stop killing our children, build up our families, live more simply, give more generously and focus our priorities on providing for our dependents, especially the older generation which fought for our freedom in two world wars, provided for our health, education and welfare, and left us the legacy of wealth, comfort, peace and security which we have squandered and taken for granted." 

In a previous pro-life newsletter in our parish, our Group reported on that old chestnut that we need to make sure we have small families in order to avoid over-population and too much strain on our social welfare systems and other resources.  I have copied our short article below.  It is worth remembering how increasingly acceptable abortion has become as, in effect, a form of family planning.  How can we say confidently that the same process of liberalisation will not take place in the case of euthanasia?

* * * * * * * *

 

We hear a great deal about the necessity for “population control” and “reproductive health care rights” (which phrase usually includes access to abortion) because of our world’s apparently burgeoning population. Much of what we read and hear makes us think that without drastic action, we will soon be fighting for space, food and water. Is this picture, however, entirely accurate?

Steven W Mosher says not. He is President of the Population Research Institute, a non-profit research organization with headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia. In a recent interview with CWN he put a very different case. In 2010, the UN Population Division (UNDP) affirmed that for the next few years the world’s population will slowly creep up, peaking at around 7.6 billion in 2040. (Bear in mind that we are already at nearly 7 billion.) After that, the projection is that we will see not a population explosion, but an implosion. By the turn of the next century the world’s population is projected to be at about 5 billion – and it will be a much older population than is currently the case.

Mosher points out that according to the UNDP’s 2010 figures, 79 countries had fertility levels below that needed to ensure the long-term survival of the population. What may surprise many is that this figure includes 36 in the less developed world. Most of the rest, UNDP believes, are likely to enter the same danger zone over the next few decades.

This is not just a question of falling numbers of people, but about demographic distribution. As a baby boomer, Mosher lived through the doubling of the global population in the second half of the twentieth century – a rate of increase never previously seen. At the same time, however, fertility rates were falling. The reason for the population increase was not unfettered reproduction: it was falling death rates. People were living for far longer than ever before. The increase in life expectancy was most dramatic in the less developed countries.

With less children being born, and all of us living longer, it does not take a degree in population studies to work out the net effect. Aging populations with fewer young people to support them. Further demands on social security services, yet fewer economically productive younger adults to fund them or indeed to care for the human needs of so many older people. The impact on quality of life in every area will be far reaching.

We don’t often get shown this perspective on the issue of global population. Could it be that the Catholic Church’s respect for large families and pro-life teachings make good practical sense after all...?                   (Source: “The Catholic World Report”, 1 November 2011)

Rock or classical? We have the gig for you!

A quick heads up about two fantabulous musical events coming up in aid of "Aila's Fund" (see the dedicated page on this blog).

ACOUSTIC ROCK NIGHT  
Saturday 5 May, 7-10.30pm in St John's Church Hall, 3 Springfield Road, Horsham RH12 2PF (just along from the Shelley Fountain).  Tickets are £5 each (£15 family) and include supper.  BYOB, but soft drinks will be available for a donation.  Do come along and enjoy a good night out with friends - tickets available from St John's parish office at the above address, or call 01403 253667.  A million thanks to the wonderful Bernie Daly for organising this.

DIAMOND JUBILEE CONCERT
Get your bank holiday royal celebrations off to a great start on Friday 1 June, 7.30pm.  Same venue, but in St John's church itself.  The programme will range from classical and jazz to gospel and there will be a raffle and free glass of wine in the church hall during the interval.  Some of the best of our local musical talent will be performing, including the redoubtable Fr Terry Martin (Diocesan Vocations Director) on his famous flute!  Tickets for this are priced at £7.50 each, £5 child/concessions or £15 family and, again, are available from the parish office.  We are very grateful to Katherine Rickards and many others from the parish and beyond for their hard work getting this concert together.

Aila would love to see you at either concert - or both!  Please do put the dates in your diary.  Thank you very much.

40 Days for Death

This is chilling.  I read today, via John Smeaton's blog, about a Planned Parenthood initiative in California in which pro-choicers are being asked to make a forty-day prayer campaign in support of what the organising group calls the "sacred care" of abortions.  LifeSiteNews carries a report on it here.

The organisers, Six Rivers Planned Parenthood of Eureka, California, have entitled their prayer campaign "Supporting Women Everywhere".  They are backed up by Humboldt County "Clergy for Choice" (please God these do not include any Catholic priests!) who apparently "value all human life" (as long, presumably, as it's not inside anyone's womb).  They have produced a brochure with a prayer for each of the forty days and something struck me very forcibly as I read through it.  Look at these two prayers:

Day 2: Today we pray for compassionate religious voices to speak out for the dignity and autonomy of women.

Day 12: Today we pray that women know the power of their own stories. May they find their voices and tell their truths.

Each prayer, in fact the whole campaign, revolves around "the autonomy of women... the power of their own stories... their voices... their truths".  The unborn children in the womb, of whichever gender, apparently have no voice or truth, no story beginning, because they are never mentioned.  It's all about the women.  I can only suppose that this is because the organisers do not consider the "clump of cells" growing in the womb to be a person.  I struggle to understand the Humboldt County Clergy for Life, though, who have explicitly stated that they "value all human life", because as I remarked above they evidently can't be including what's growing in the womb.  Only... it's alive... and it's not anything other than human by species... so, um?!  Humboldt clergy, please explain your logic.

On Day 36 participants are invited to pray for "the families we've chosen" and yet Day 39 asks that "a contagious love... overflow from our spirits".  Well, let's qualify: only to those we choose to infect.  That does sound like a contagious "love" and not one I'd care to contract or be contaminated by.

It is a sad day when a prayer campaign is not only launched against a prior prayer campaign, Christian up against Christian, but is launched in support of violating the Fifth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill".  It is a sad day when a group of people claiming to have faith in God can absorb the individualistic, utilitarian ethics of the modern secular world so thoroughly, to the extent that they describe the dismembering of human foetuses not just as permissible but actually as "sacred care".  And perhaps the saddest thing of all is how misguided this all is.  Humboldt Clergy, this is not the way to support or value women.

St John's Pro-Life get together again

Left to right: Niki, Katherine and Demelza

On Wednesday night those members of the group who could got together for one of our regular St John's Pro-Life Group meetings.  It's rare for all Group members to be able to meet up at the same time and Wednesday was no exception, but it was a very profitable gathering nonetheless.  Chief on the agenda were remembrance, awareness-raising and almsgiving.

Remembrance took the form of discussing planting plans for the plot of the Memorial for Unborn Children in Hills Farm Cemetery, Horsham.  I can't say "our" Memorial, firstly because it wasn't instigated by us (the now-defunct Horsham SPUC branch worked hard to fundraise for and erect it some years ago) and secondly because we would like to encourage a shared sense of ownership of the Memorial amongst all St John's parishioners, the town of Horsham and anyone who has a little person to remember.  However our Group has taken on the task of "refurbishing" the somewhat neglected plot.  After months of talking (by us) and hard digging (by Stella and her daughter Becka) it seems that planting may now be just weeks away!  If you look hard you can see that the girls in the photo are poring over a book of roses lent to us by Stella.  They may look knowledgeable but they're only pretending.  None of us in attendance on Wednesday had much of a clue really and we're referring the drawing up of the planting plans to Stella and to Demelza's gardener friend Paula.

OK girls, who are you kidding?

Awareness-raising involved talking about our regular parish newsletter and about this blog.  Are there particular topics you'd like to see covered or questions you'd like answered?  Let us know in the combox.

We also discussed leafleting.  I have done door-to-door leafleting in the past and I'll be honest, I find it SCARY.  My personal approach is to push the flyer into the letterbox as quickly as possible and then speed-walk down the drive (actual running would look silly and, as an unpractised person who on principle never runs unless being chased by plague-spreading zombies, I'd probably fall over)... after which I scuttle along to the next house hiding my clutch of leaflets under my cardigan, emanating guilt and embarassment yet kidding myself I look casually nonchalant.  I have been known to stoop as low as to send my sons, in their much younger days, to do it instead, on the grounds that no-one round where we live is likely to hurl abuse and eggs at children.

More seriously and less selfishly, there's also the question of how a leaflet is worded (short, snappy and attention-grabbing can easily become either superficial or harsh and intolerant-sounding) and of whether putting a necessarily limited message on a piece of paper through someone's door is the best context for raising awareness of certain complex and sensitive issues.

In the end, we decided that - if our clergy think it appropriate - we will distribute one of SPUC's latest leaflets within our parish.  It's been designed to tie up with the journey of the Olympic torch and you can find out about it here.  We liked it; it's attractive, simple but not simplistic and includes a brief summary of the development of the unborn child within the womb, and the topical link-up grabs one's attention.

Almsgiving - well, it's not Lent any more but of course this should be an ongoing part of Christian life. Over the months and years our Group aims to support a range of local charities in turn, not only because we'd like to help and to raise awareness of them, but also in order to broaden the concept of "pro-life" - many people tend to think of it rather narrowly, as being confined to opposing abortion and maybe euthanasia.  I and my family already have great reason to be thankful to the Group for their support of "Aila's Fund"; other causes we'd like to support include a local hospice and the town's crisis pregnancy centre, a disability awareness group and a ward of the local hospital.  It's all part of protecting, nurturing and celebrating human life at every stage and in all the diversity of situations this world throws at us.

Fittingly, Katherine opened and closed the meeting in prayer.  We invite anyone reading this blog to join with us in praying for the whole gamut of pro-life causes from conception to natural death.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as he said, alleluia.

Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. 

Amen. 

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.

Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, Alleluia,
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus: Deus qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum.
Amen.

Euthanasia? Choose hope instead

Thanks to a post on John Smeaton's blog I've just taken time out to listen to an amazing BBC World Service interview with Alison Davis. Born with spina bifida, Alison had for many years a fixed desire to die but is now a passionate anti-euthanasia activist and national coordinator of No Less Human, a division of SPUC which works to raise awareness of the value of the lives of the disabled (see our sidebar).  Please do go here and listen too because it's a truly inspiring and moving interview.

Though raised a Christian in the Protestant tradition, Alison was for many years an atheist and even when she decided to explore the possibility that believers in God might be onto something, Catholicism was the last religion that she wanted to have anything to do with.  As you will guess, she is now a committed Catholic! Her conviction of the redemptive value of suffering when united to that of Christ on the Cross (she is in more or less constant and often agonising pain) is one of the factors that has made her feel life is worth living.

However, she describes other factors too which are not necessarily dependent upon a religious faith.  One initial turning point came after a visit to some disabled children in India when she turned to her carer, Colin, and said, "I think I might just want to live.  I think I could help these children."  She had, she says now, started to think about what she could do for others despite her circumstances, not what they could do for her.  She is rightly convinced that even those who are quite incapacitated can be of immeasurable value and help to others, simply by giving them opportunities for compassion and service and thus bringing out the best in them.

In a similar vein, she draws out the importance of human support and companionship in making life worth living.  She describes moments of friendship and laughter, of real joy, that have meant so much to her, particularly after the advent of her carer Colin into her life (as a student he offered to help her for a fortnight, and is still her carer 23 years later.  His testimony about how serving Alison has changed his life and formed his character is moving in its own right).  She had been lonely, she says, and it was partly for that reason that her suffering seemed unbearable, though she mentions the caring attentions of friends over the years which actually led to her life being saved after suicide attempts.

Above all, Alison says, we all need hope, and we are able to carry on living and finding a meaning in life if we have it.  Euthanasia robs people of hope by suggesting that death is the only way forward, but none of us "can second-guess what is round the corner". 

She also points out that euthanasia is never a decision that involves only one individual. Like abortion, like marriage, the debate about euthanasia is something that concerns society as a whole and once you allow it for one person, others are inevitably affected.  Therein lies a clarion call: because society as a whole is involved, then society (i.e. each and every one of us) should be looking for ways to carry other people's burdens, not dispose of those people as though they were burdens themselves.  As Christians, we follow Christ in so doing. "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows..." (Isaiah 53:4)

Like Ruth Pakaluk (see previous post), Alison is a pro-life heroine, a saint in the making for our times, and like her she is someone who it is not beyond any of us to emulate.   Thank God for her example and her courage.

A pro-life read

Worth a read

A friend recently lent me The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God to read.  It's the story of Ruth Pakaluk, of interest to me because she was both a convert to the Catholic faith and a pro-life activist (and short in height!!).  Mother of seven and such a powerful pro-life debater that after a while Planned Parenthood spokeswomen would not go up against her in public, she died at the age of 41 from metastasised breast cancer.

The book is edited by her husband, Michael Pakaluk, and consists mainly of Ruth's own letters written across a period spanning from her college days in Harvard, a spell in Edinburgh and then through many years when she seemingly managed to be both mum and pro-life activist each on a full-time basis in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The book's cover quotes Michael, saying, "Greatness can indeed be shown by a housewife and homemaker, and, furthermore, it might be more readily apparent under conditions of weakness, suffering, and death."  As a member of Opus Dei Ruth would certainly have had a huge heart for the sanctification of herself and the world through her everyday routine and I began reading eagerly, looking to meet someone inspirational I could identify with in my own humble state of life.  However it quickly became apparent that Ruth was no ordinary "housewife and homemaker"; not only was there her Harvard education, but her intelligence evidently had a very intellectual cast, she was terrifyingly articulate and she seemed to be possessed of staggering amounts of talent, determination and willpower in every area.  I did wonder if, had I known her, I might have found her a little intimidating!

St Josemaria, pray for us

Having said this, she certainly shines as a beacon of faith and as an example of what can be achieved through trust in God in outwardly very ordinary circumstances.  When she died there was a call in her home town of Worcester for her cause for sainthood to be put forward.  The various domestic details in her letters, including such identifiable-with incidents as expressing her frustration with a teenage son who dumps his dirty laundry in screwed-up bundles around his room, her particular interests and hobbies, and the very "human" aspects of her character such as a tendency to be very forthright and outspoken, all witness to the fact that Saints too are flawed and fallen human beings whose great virtue is to have abandoned themselves to God and allowed themselves to be channels of His goodness and power to the world in just the same sorts of situations that we all find ourselves in.

Peter Kreeft, who writes an introduction to the book, remarks that Ruth was "always cheerful" even when, in the midst of pain, she laboured at her pro-life work and brought up her large family, "working harder for the culture of life while in poor health than most people ever work when in perfect health".  He comments, "Like Mother Teresa.  Like John Paul II.  They show us that cheerfulness is neither a temporary feeling nor a genetic predisposition but a choice.  A matter of free choice - of will, not emotion... not a teeth-gritting, 'stiff upper lip' cheerfulness but one grounded in truth and in fact, in the certainty of the goodness and wisdom and power of God."

For UK pro-lifers, this book is valuable as an inspiration rather than a resource, as it is very focused on the political set-up in the States and the particular background of Roe v Wade.  However there are some gems of general pro-life and spiritual wisdom to be found throughout the book and particularly in a selection of talks by Ruth that are included at the end.  The core of Ruth's pro-life argument runs as below (summarised by Michael), and it is a useful one.

"Human rights are rights that pertain to us simply in virtue of the fact that we are human, not for any reason above and beyond that; the fundamental human right is the right to life, and so, if that right is denied, then all human rights are in effect denied; the thing growing in the mother's womb is surely alive (otherwise it would not need to be killed by abortion), and it is human; thus, to deny that the thing growing in the mother's womb has the right to life is to deny that anyone has any human rights whatsoever."

The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God, ed Michael Pakaluk, is published by Ignatius, ISBN 978-1-58617-451-4 and is available from Amazon.

The ethics of the human egg industry

A not so innocent egg industry...

Many if not most of us have probably done our share of gorging on choccie Easter eggs this weekend.  However a post on Christian Medical Comment draws attention to a far more problematic egg industry - that in human eggs.

Peter Saunders gives a whole array of facts, figures and percentages in his post so I won't repeat them here.  The essence of the issue is the commodification of human life and the reasons underlying this.  Apparently the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) is launching a drive to recruit sperm and egg donors, with egg donors now being paid £750 per cycle.  This rise in payment (from £250) has led to a five-fold increase in women coming forward to offer their services.  Although the Daily Mail quotes Dr Gillian Lockwood of Midland Fertility Services as saying that most women donate eggs through compassion rather than for mercenary means, especially given that it is a long and uncomfortable process, this amount of payment must be "tempting in a recession" (as Peter Saunders points out) and especially so for women who are particularly vulnerable because of their economic circumstances.

The situation is apparently more extreme in the States, where, to quote Mr Saunders again, the infertility industry has grown to a multi-billion dollar industry whose main commodity is in human eggs.  Young women on college campuses are amongst those being targeted by offers of up to $100,000 for the apparently worthy cause of helping to make "someone's dream come true".

The same post mentions that "scientists in Edinburgh are intending to seek permission from the HFEA to fertilise eggs grown in a laboratory from stem cells. The tests are understood to be aimed at eventually generating an unlimited supply of human eggs that could assist women to have babies later in life." 

What on earth are we doing here?  Adoption rates are falling steadily - according to Peter Saunders the rate currently stands at one adoption in the UK for every 2,235 abortions (see this post for his data sources).  Whilst there are other factors to take into account for the fall in adoptions, such as different social attitudes these days to single parent families, that figure still stands as a stark and shocking condemnation of our current-day attitudes towards the value of human life. 

Whose rights and whose needs are important here - the child's, or the would-be (or would-be-not) parent's?  Yes, infertility is a cross; it is a great sadness; but that does not mean that any answer whatsoever to it, whatever the cost, is ethical.  Do we no longer have any sense at all of accepting life as a gift (a gift is always something gratuitously given and gratefully received, not something demanded as an entitlement)?  Have we lost all notion of sacrifice - the sort of sacrifice that will accept the gift of a child even if he was not planned, at least to the extent of bringing him into the world... or even if she was born to someone else who feels unable to nurture her as she deserves, rather than insisting on a baby that has in some way been made to measure for oneself and is therefore one's "own"?  We place such importance on our careers, on some sort of odd measure of "self-fulfilment", that we feel we even have a right to our "own" child when we have purposely (I realise that it is not purposely in the case of every woman) left child-bearing to a time of life when our fertility is naturally declining, with the baby we want then being just the next step in "self-fulfilment".  Feminism seems to have got distorted into a simple "it's all about me"... Even for parents who are willing to adopt, the babies are not there, because they have been terminated in the womb.

No-one possesses another human being.  Every parent knows, or should know, that.  Our children do not belong to us like possessions, they are individuals in their own right who have been placed into our care to love and nurture.  And yet we have made whole industries out of our "rights" with regard to them, industries that often fall foul of justice and peace principles as badly as do sweat-shops making clothes or chocolate-makers exploiting child labourers.  In the fertility industry too there are the weak and vulnerable who suffer or are at risk of exploitation: women who put themselves through potentially risky egg donation procedures for money they need (and think of the commercial surrogacy clinics in India where poor women are paid to gestate children for rich Westerners); children who are born with no clear idea of their genetic parentage, which can have profound effects on self-identity, ultimately to the detriment of social stability; the destruction of embryonic human life.

To quote a fellow-Catholic who, a while back, drew our Group's attention to the issue of surrogacy clinics in the Third World, we are going down a road that "links to so many things - that us demanding our rights has repercussions that we would never really want - that words can be used to make anything seem right - that once something is allowed a market will develop and once a market develops the weak will be exploited...Can it ever be right for women and children and men all to be treated as commodities?"

The Circle of Life!

Christ our Light

I love the Easter Vigil... For all the obvious reasons; because it is the anniversary of my Reception into the Catholic Church (18 years this Easter); and because there are always baptisms and/or Confirmations, occasions for enormous rejoicing in themselves and symbols of, well, everything that Easter is and means.

As always, our Easter Vigil last night at St John's was beautiful (sadly I haven't any photos - maybe some will be posted on the church blog in due course, whence I can filch them).  As ever, the first Mass of the Resurrection was a spiritual and visual feast of darkness-into-light, flames of faith burning steadfastly within the shadows, bells and voices and a blaze of light as our Saviour rose from His tomb and flooded all times and all places with Resurrection power... a multi-media experience in the best and most authentic sense of the phrase.  The church was full and, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow Christians, I hoped that the wider world (which we could hear in the background enjoying a Saturday night out) might give the occasional glance through the door and register on some level that something very real and very "relevant" was happening here.

It was an occasion of grace, of hope, of strengthening.  Christ is Risen, Alleluia! - He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!

During the Vigil a new infant member entered into the Church through Baptism.  With many apologies to him and his family, I can't bring his name to mind (but he was gorgeous!).  After the little one's baptism Fr Richard held him aloft so that his new parish family could rejoice and welcome him with applause.  Fr Richard's gesture struck me as another profound symbol of hope and meaning. It seemed to say, in a sort of ecce homo, not only that here is a new Christian! - but also, behold the wonder of this human person! - ineffably precious, made in the image of God and divinised through the Incarnation of Christ, loved by his Creator so much that He redeemed Him through His own blood.  Furthermore, the little one's presence was a sign that Christ's Church, even in today's cynical, secular world where so many (as the Pope preached at his Easter Vigil) are "groping in the dark" and seemingly "unable to distinguish good from evil", is still alive and growing.

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18).

After Mass our younger son asked, "Why did Father hold the baby up like Simba?" (in the scene from Disney's The Lion King) - to which his older brother remarked, "Because it's 'the circle of life' " (song from same movie). Now, lest anyone should be tempted to think what a cute interchange this was, I will point out that our sons are aged 19 and 22 respectively and they were being a bit silly.  Still, they had a good point.  We were indeed witnessing the circle of life.  We were privileged to be present at the beginning of a new life in Christ entered through the door of baptism; a life which would, by the grace of God, continue nourished through the reception of Holy Communion, strengthened by grace through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, empowered at Confirmation and perhaps directed in service via either marriage or Holy Orders until it entered into eternity through the gates of Viaticum.  Through those years a particular personality would unfold, and that unfolding in itself would be a thing of wonder and a delight to see, but just now the little person held aloft was a mystery and a treasure trove of human and divine potential.  Deo gratias!

Let's pray that every newly conceived human life is seen as a treasure trove, given the chance to be born both naturally and spiritually into its rightful heritage and to unfold its riches over the years, riches of grace and virtue that he or she can finally offer back to the Father as "treasure in heaven".  For it is certain that Jesus Christ longs to hold each little human life up to His Father in thanksgiving and love just as our priest held up our tiny new parishioner last night.

* * * * * * * *

A haiku by Stella (of "Stella's Story")

Life from its starting
Maranatha, softly call
Simple precious gift

    Years ahead praying
    Maranatha, quietly call
    Answered prayers of life
 
Faith filled years passing
Maranatha, hear my call
Darkness of the soul

    Light shines with praying
    Maranatha, softly call
    God is always there

Eyes to heaven turn
Maranatha, pleading now
Autumn days are close

    Life draws to a close
    Maranatha, You are here
    Forgive my doubting
  
Alleluia!

A Very Happy Easter...

... to both our readers! 

As we prepare to celebrate our Lord's rising from the tomb tonight we entrust the pro-life cause afresh to Him, knowing that through His victory over sin and death the unborn who have lost their lives will also rise again and that those who mourn will be comforted (cf Matthew 5:4).

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Suffering - to be avoided at all costs?

As a small and poor tribute to Palm Sunday and the opening of Holy Week, here is the Editorial from today's St John's pro-life newsletter.

Holy Week... Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final days of His life, when, for our sakes, He will voluntarily shoulder a Cross as heavy as all the sins that ever were and ever will be committed, and will submit to suffering unto death.  Foolishness indeed to the world in general, as St Paul points out in 1 Corinthians, but to Christians “the power of God” – a pathway to blessings beyond imagination.

It is no different today.  Our society sees suffering as the evil to be avoided.  Death itself is preferable to it.  Not death arrived at through a process of seeing suffering through to the bitter end as Jesus did, but as an alternative, swallowed down quickly as a pill or potion or administered by lethal injection.  What happiness can there be when suffering makes its appearance on the scene?  What meaning and value can we find to our lives if they contain pain or severe physical limitations?

Seen through this perspective, euthanasia (or the abortion of a disabled foetus) becomes the compassionate – the only compassionate – option to offer the severely incapacitated.  The Catholic viewpoint, that we have no right to take our own or anyone else’s life whatever the circumstances, is seen as meaningless if not downright cruel.  Try to talk about the positive value of suffering and you are likely to be rhetorically stoned for, firstly, condemning someone to bear their pain no matter what and then for adding insult to injury by telling them suffering is good for their soul...

In fact that is the great message of Easter; that we will all find crosses, great or small, in our lives but that through faith in Christ those crosses – the things we most fear in life like pain, illness, paralysis - can be transformed into blessings.  What then is left to for us to be afraid of?  Encouraging someone to “hang on in there” is neither cruel nor pious nonsense because God “will not let you be put to the test beyond your strength but with any trial will also provide a way out by enabling you to put up with it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Where suffering abounds, grace abounds all the more, to slightly adapt the words of St Paul.

This isn’t an easy concept, especially as you probably have to walk some dark roads yourself before you can testify to the hidden light to be found there.  Such witnesses can be found.  Alison Davies is a sufferer from spina bifida who herself passed through a stage of wanting to die; now she works to promote a positive view of disability through No Less Human, a branch of SPUC.  Chelsea Zimmerman was paralysed from the chest down in a car accident whilst still a teenager; she is passionately pro-life and writes an inspirational blog, Reflections of a Paralytic.  Alison and Chelsea are witnesses to the light, people who have made – and are making – a difficult journey and learning along the way to value life all the more.  There are others like them, finding blessings and meaning blossoming like those hardy wild flowers one sees obstinately thriving between the rails of train lines or on rock faces.

Every flower must receive water and nourishment from somewhere, however.  As we meditate on what Holy Week can tell us about suffering and grace, can we also respond to the challenge it gives us?  Like Simon of Cyrene, Veronica and the women of Jerusalem, do we have hearts big enough to help shoulder the crosses of those who suffer so terribly -  showing them what comfort we can, weeping with them when the pain feels too much and, well, just loving them?  True compassion will always try to offer a reason to live, not a way to die.

*Perhaps it should be mentioned that this editorial is discussing unavoidable suffering.  Of course it is our duty to alleviate suffering and seek a cure wherever possible; but not at the price of deliberately taking a life.