There are some perks to being in the ‘second part’ of life – free bus passes and cheaper train tickets for example. But of course, there are some down sides to it. As I type this, I’m attached to a 24hr heart monitor – but thanks to the NHS, I’m having certain symptoms ‘investigated’ – so I’ll know the state of play of my body. So, with that in mind, I was grabbed by the news coverage of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor lecture which he gave this week at Leicester’s Anglican Cathedral. ‘Treating elderly as a burden opens them to violence’ was the headline in the Daily Telegraph. He said that there was a subtle and silent process of “dehumanising” older people at work through common attitudes and a loss of “reverence” for humanity meant that some of the most vulnerable people in society are now routinely viewed as a problem or threat. And he said that political decisions to cut back on vital care services amounted to denying older people’s fundamental right to life. This chimes in with so many other area of ‘ageism’ prevalent at the moment– the media especially. I’ve always felt I had a good ‘face’ for radio! The fun part was always meeting people who’d only heard my voice, and obviously decided on their own ‘picture’ of what I looked like. Bit of a shock when they met me!
The good Cardinal – whom I’ve had the privilege of interviewing on many occasions, turns 80 this year – so I guess this subject is close to his heart too. He warned of a tendency to view human beings as a “product” or a “commodity” which resulted in people ultimately being viewed as “disposable”. “Instead of regarding the elderly as a source of value in their own right; as a resource for families and communities especially in an increasingly fragmented social and cultural world, we view them as a problem or a threat,” he said. “We have lost that deep reverence for humanity in all its different conditions.”
He talked about many things – including a “deep unease” in western society; the importance of the family unit; religious freedom and questions such as assisted suicide. “The trouble with enabling laws” he said, “is that they have a tendency, once they are on the statute book, to encourage the acts that they enable.” And he added: “Laws are not precision guided missiles. They have a habit of inflicting collateral damage well beyond the intended target area.”
This led me to think about Phyllis Bowman – that distinguished pro-life campaigner, who died in hospital at the age of 85 last week. She founded the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, (SPUC) and set up the Right to Life pressure group, of which I was honoured to be a Patron. I was surprised at the small amount of coverage on her death. The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nicholls, paid tribute to her ‘generous service and unfailing witness’. She was a tireless promoter of her cause and felt very strongly that a society that doesn’t care for life at the beginning and end is doomed. May she rest in peace.
One of the good things about having been around so long is that you know so many people! And I’m always thrilled to meet up with someone I knew ‘before they were who they are now’. Each week when I record the Podcast for Premier Radio at the House of Lords, I meet Bishops whom I’ve known since they were Curates – or even before that! I was on the Central Religious Advisory Council (CRAC) with the present Archbishop of Canterbury and when I first met Bishop James Jones he was working with Scripture Union as a Producer. Another example is the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. I first met him way back in the 70’s when he was Chaplain to the wonderful Robert Runcie, who was at that time Bishop of St Albans. I met him when I was on the aforementioned CRAC and he was the Chairman. There were some lively media lunches organised on a fairly regular basis and on one occasion Richard asked me to pass him over a bottle of wine. I picked it up and passed it across. ‘No’, he said’- you must treat it the same way you treat a lady. You pick it up by the waist and not the neck’! I must admit to remembering that conversation almost every time I pick up a bottle of wine. And so it was a great delight that he – in his position as Bishop of London – visited my church last Sunday. We are 180 years old this year and he is our Patron. The whole church fell in love with him and he was a great representative of the Church of England at its best! He spent time with everyone – especially the children – and gave us a cracking sermon reminding us of the situation in the country when the church was built and the challenges faced by the good people of Whetstone, and urged us to take up today’s challenges. All in all a splendid occasion. And by taking time to talk to the children has enthused a new generation to ‘take up the baton’. He also spent time with the elderly members of the congregation. Both ends of the spectrum of life were embraced and affirmed.
(First appeared in the Church of England Newspaper)
