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shrike3
shrike3's Journal
shrike3's Journal
August 27, 2023
It’s been two years since my daughter, Martha, died in hospital, just before her 14th birthday. I divide my life into before her death, and after: nothing is the same and the change is permanent. Alongside Merope, Martha’s mum, I’m grappling with how to live. Consciously or not, we adjust a little more each day to our new reality, wondering: can we manage to appear “normal”? Is it possible to keep being friends with families and not be flayed by envy?
If grief can be defined as learning to be in the world without a person you love, I have a lot of learning still to do. As things stand, my thoughts revolve around two questions – they dominate my days. The first is: can I forgive the doctors and the hospital who so badly let her down? (Martha’s was a preventable death.) And second, at the core of everything: can I forgive myself for failing to save her?
When you raise a child for 14 years, the line where you end and they begin gets blurred; the cliché is that they become part of you, with all your instincts and priorities transformed. From the time Martha was born in 2007, I saw myself, first and foremost, as a dad; from 2009, I was the father of two daughters and it gave me a huge sense of self-worth and fulfilment. I did what parents do everywhere – the bathtimes, the picture books on repeat, the school run. It felt right; it was a lot of fun.
snip
My primal, existential role was to protect my child, to keep her alive – and I failed. Most bereaved parents know a version of this feeling. It’s one of the reasons losing a child can be different from other types of grief. Not only is such a death an inversion of the natural order. And not only was Martha denied anything that resembled a full life (“She had so many plans,” her sister, Lottie, said.) But I was responsible for her welfare during all of her short life. So when I went to see Martha’s body, post-autopsy, at the undertakers, what I howled was: “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Written by the child's mother a year earlier:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/03/13-year-old-daughter-dead-in-five-weeks-hospital-mistakes
"Can I forgive myself for my daughter's death?" Shocking, heartbreaking.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/27/can-i-forgive-myself-for-my-daughters-deathIt’s been two years since my daughter, Martha, died in hospital, just before her 14th birthday. I divide my life into before her death, and after: nothing is the same and the change is permanent. Alongside Merope, Martha’s mum, I’m grappling with how to live. Consciously or not, we adjust a little more each day to our new reality, wondering: can we manage to appear “normal”? Is it possible to keep being friends with families and not be flayed by envy?
If grief can be defined as learning to be in the world without a person you love, I have a lot of learning still to do. As things stand, my thoughts revolve around two questions – they dominate my days. The first is: can I forgive the doctors and the hospital who so badly let her down? (Martha’s was a preventable death.) And second, at the core of everything: can I forgive myself for failing to save her?
When you raise a child for 14 years, the line where you end and they begin gets blurred; the cliché is that they become part of you, with all your instincts and priorities transformed. From the time Martha was born in 2007, I saw myself, first and foremost, as a dad; from 2009, I was the father of two daughters and it gave me a huge sense of self-worth and fulfilment. I did what parents do everywhere – the bathtimes, the picture books on repeat, the school run. It felt right; it was a lot of fun.
snip
My primal, existential role was to protect my child, to keep her alive – and I failed. Most bereaved parents know a version of this feeling. It’s one of the reasons losing a child can be different from other types of grief. Not only is such a death an inversion of the natural order. And not only was Martha denied anything that resembled a full life (“She had so many plans,” her sister, Lottie, said.) But I was responsible for her welfare during all of her short life. So when I went to see Martha’s body, post-autopsy, at the undertakers, what I howled was: “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Written by the child's mother a year earlier:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/03/13-year-old-daughter-dead-in-five-weeks-hospital-mistakes
August 16, 2023
https://www.ncronline.org/news/christian-nationalisms-opponents-are-getting-organized?fbclid=IwAR1Ig80fFBzLfvkUjIqu_p_he2p711L0W6m0fyJZbt4uB01n9g954ioLF_c
Many mobilization campaigns against Christian nationalism, including some mentioned in the report, draw strength from projects that predate Jan. 6. The Poor People's Campaign, launched in 2017 by Theoharis and the Rev. William Barber II, rebooted the last campaign of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who organized the original in 1968 as a way to resist what he described as three "evils" of society — racism, poverty and war. The campaign's recent iteration added two more to that list: ecological devastation and the "distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism," which includes Christian nationalism.
Meanwhile, the advocacy group Faithful America has organized clergy and other faith leaders to stage protests across the country criticizing events that feature Christian nationalists — particularly the ReAwaken America Tour, a right-wing traveling roadshow typically headlined by Christian nationalist influencer and former Trump adviser Michael Flynn.
Faithful America protesters are often joined by leaders associated with groups such as Interfaith Alliance, which convened a briefing on Christian nationalism on Capitol Hill in September, or Christians Against Christian Nationalism, an effort led by Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, who recently condemned Christian nationalism in a testimony before Congress.
"Christian nationalism strikes at the heart of the foundational ideas of what religious freedom means and how it's protected in this country, and that is with the institution of separation of church and state," Tyler told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in December.
Tyler and others have also partnered with groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with the Baptist committee and the Freedom From Religion Foundation producing a joint report on the role Christian nationalism played in the Jan. 6 attack.
Christian nationalism's opponents are getting organized
https://www.ncronline.org/news/christian-nationalisms-opponents-are-getting-organized?fbclid=IwAR1Ig80fFBzLfvkUjIqu_p_he2p711L0W6m0fyJZbt4uB01n9g954ioLF_c
Many mobilization campaigns against Christian nationalism, including some mentioned in the report, draw strength from projects that predate Jan. 6. The Poor People's Campaign, launched in 2017 by Theoharis and the Rev. William Barber II, rebooted the last campaign of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who organized the original in 1968 as a way to resist what he described as three "evils" of society — racism, poverty and war. The campaign's recent iteration added two more to that list: ecological devastation and the "distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism," which includes Christian nationalism.
Meanwhile, the advocacy group Faithful America has organized clergy and other faith leaders to stage protests across the country criticizing events that feature Christian nationalists — particularly the ReAwaken America Tour, a right-wing traveling roadshow typically headlined by Christian nationalist influencer and former Trump adviser Michael Flynn.
Faithful America protesters are often joined by leaders associated with groups such as Interfaith Alliance, which convened a briefing on Christian nationalism on Capitol Hill in September, or Christians Against Christian Nationalism, an effort led by Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, who recently condemned Christian nationalism in a testimony before Congress.
"Christian nationalism strikes at the heart of the foundational ideas of what religious freedom means and how it's protected in this country, and that is with the institution of separation of church and state," Tyler told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in December.
Tyler and others have also partnered with groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with the Baptist committee and the Freedom From Religion Foundation producing a joint report on the role Christian nationalism played in the Jan. 6 attack.
August 15, 2023
https://www.ncronline.org/news/throng-interfaith-leaders-focus-combating-authoritarianism-global-gathering-chicago?fbclid=IwAR2AZRWlMwcJgosuRWIjlOxnRlXcCGwnaIw2PTeo6TgV-vJMw13BVviBjVM
More than 6,000 people representing scores of religions and belief systems are expected to convene in Chicago starting August 14 for what organizers bill as the world’s largest gathering of interfaith leaders.
For the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the week-long event marks a return to its roots – the organization was founded in Chicago in 1893. In the past 30 years, it has convened six times, most recently in Toronto in 2018.
Past gatherings have drawn participants from more than 80 nations. This week’s speakers and presenters will represent Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Baha’i, Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Indigenous religions, paganism and other beliefs.
This year’s theme is "A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights," with a focus on combating authoritarianism around the world. Topics on the agenda include climate change, human rights, food insecurity, racism and women’s rights.
Scheduled speakers include U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and actor Rainn Wilson, a member of the Baha’i faith. The keynote speaker will be Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Illustrative of the parliament’s diversity, its program chair for this week’s event is Phyllis Curott, a Wiccan priestess who as an author and lawyer has advocated for the legal rights of witches.
A throng of interfaith leaders to focus on combating authoritarianism at global gathering in Chicago
https://www.ncronline.org/news/throng-interfaith-leaders-focus-combating-authoritarianism-global-gathering-chicago?fbclid=IwAR2AZRWlMwcJgosuRWIjlOxnRlXcCGwnaIw2PTeo6TgV-vJMw13BVviBjVM
More than 6,000 people representing scores of religions and belief systems are expected to convene in Chicago starting August 14 for what organizers bill as the world’s largest gathering of interfaith leaders.
For the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the week-long event marks a return to its roots – the organization was founded in Chicago in 1893. In the past 30 years, it has convened six times, most recently in Toronto in 2018.
Past gatherings have drawn participants from more than 80 nations. This week’s speakers and presenters will represent Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Baha’i, Hinduism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Indigenous religions, paganism and other beliefs.
This year’s theme is "A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights," with a focus on combating authoritarianism around the world. Topics on the agenda include climate change, human rights, food insecurity, racism and women’s rights.
Scheduled speakers include U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and actor Rainn Wilson, a member of the Baha’i faith. The keynote speaker will be Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Illustrative of the parliament’s diversity, its program chair for this week’s event is Phyllis Curott, a Wiccan priestess who as an author and lawyer has advocated for the legal rights of witches.
August 13, 2023
With war raging in Europe and ever increasing polarization throughout the world, Pope Francis on Aug. 6 told a massive gathering of more than 1.5 million young people to choose dialogue over isolation and to be "beacons of hope in dark times."
Christians, the pope said, are called "to love our neighbors as they are, not only when they agree with us, but also when they are unkind or disagreeable."
The pope's remarks came during the closing Mass for the World Youth Day celebrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of young people from more than 200 countries here to the Portuguese capital for the weeklong festivities.
In what local authorities were describing as the largest event in the history of the nation, young people slept out all night along the banks of the Tagus River to be present with the 86-year-old pope, who consistently used the week's events to underscore the importance of intergenerational relationships.
Non-Catholics, please observe our safe haven rules.
Pope Francis to 1.5 million youth in Portugal: Be 'beacons of hope in dark times'
https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-francis-15-million-youth-portugal-be-beacons-hope-dark-times?fbclid=IwAR3H3HKyC1Va6DOW_UEpCH95K4E6TacHpmUecYVAVSyVqrfnatY8ha1mVFsWith war raging in Europe and ever increasing polarization throughout the world, Pope Francis on Aug. 6 told a massive gathering of more than 1.5 million young people to choose dialogue over isolation and to be "beacons of hope in dark times."
Christians, the pope said, are called "to love our neighbors as they are, not only when they agree with us, but also when they are unkind or disagreeable."
The pope's remarks came during the closing Mass for the World Youth Day celebrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of young people from more than 200 countries here to the Portuguese capital for the weeklong festivities.
In what local authorities were describing as the largest event in the history of the nation, young people slept out all night along the banks of the Tagus River to be present with the 86-year-old pope, who consistently used the week's events to underscore the importance of intergenerational relationships.
Non-Catholics, please observe our safe haven rules.
