IN THE YEAR OF ST JOSEPH aid from the state. Pregnant girls, of course, go to the front of the queue for social housing allocation and this serves to illustrate the Law of Unintended Consequences. The biggest single cause of poverty since 1970 has been the dissolution of both the nuclear and extended family. It is a heart-breaking, self-inflicted wound, but no liberal will so much as mention it as a causal factor in poverty, still less accept – as every single longitudinal study has shown – that single parenthood significantly raises the likelihood of sub-optimal outcomes for the children in terms of mental health, employment, drug use, criminality and earning power. Though it is reasonable and we are still enjoined not to stigmatise single mothers, we should make clear that single parenthood in the long run will, in most cases, lead to a poor outcome, for the mothers, for the children and for the families.
St Joseph, pray for us.
© Hans Johnson
This Covid-19 pandemic has forcefully demonstrated that our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people - people often overlooked – men and women who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines or on the latest television show. Yet these people are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Of course we appreciate the efforts of front line doctors and nurses. However, most of us have more direct and personal cause to thank the men and women working to provide and maintain essential services such as the storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, transport and delivery workers, care workers and volunteers.
Each of us can discover Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily discreet and hidden presence – a support and a guide in times of trouble. Remember, some of the greatest saints in heaven are unknown except to God. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future – if he is prepared to grasp the opportunities for improvement which life presents. Joseph is described as a ‘just man’ – not ‘just a man’. It is not too late, but the longer we fail to deal with the crisis of fatherhood, the more difficult it will be to rectify the situation. I think Pope Francis has made an inspired choice for 2021. I wish his predecessors had done the same thing decades ago. However, since in these days in this country, a certain prejudice against Christianity – and particularly Catholicism – is the last and only socially permissible prejudice you can exhibit openly with little risk of retribution, it must fall to our politicians, who are in a position to amend the relevant laws and statutes, to change the political climate and rebalance the scales of rights and responsibilities. If successfully enacted, this will not, of course, cure all social ills and the results may only become apparent with time – probably measured in generations. However, it will be a step in the right direction and, as one Oriental philosopher pointed out, the longest journey begins with the first step.
Nazareth, home of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in 2013 OCTOBER 2021
Oremus
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