June 2020 229

INTERFAI TH UNI T Y AGAINST COVID-19 British Ambassador hosts Virtual Tea Party with encouraging conclusions Sally Axworthy represents Britain’s interests to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church (library image)

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Editorial approved by Fr. Stuart Chipolina

Holy Father’s words at Camerino resonate around the globe.

“REMEMBER, REPAIR, REBUILD ...TOGETHER”

On the 17th June Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in Camerino in the Italian Marches Region, reflecting on Psalm 8, and on the words “remembering”, “hope”, and “closeness”.

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he earthquakes that struck Camerino and nearby Italian hill-towns, on August 24th and again on October 30th three years ago, left nearly 300 people dead and buildings in ruins.

At a magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter Scale, they were the most destructive earthquakes to hit Italy in over 30 years, after those

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that devastated L’Aquila in 2009.

The towns and the people have been struggling to recover ever since.

Psalm 8:5

Pope Francis began his homily by repeating the words of Psalm 8: “What is man that you are mindful of him?” The Pope said these words came to mind when he thought of the people of this area: “Faced with what

Pope Francis’ encouragement given to the people of L’Aquila last month strengthens all of us as we recover from the efficts of the Coronavirus in our own lives.

Courtesy of Vatican News

you have seen and suffered”, he said, “with houses collapsed and buildings reduced to rubble, the question arises: what is man ever? What is he, if his hopes can end up in dust?”

Remembering

In quoting from the Psalm, Pope Francis used the Italian verb “ricordare” – which literally means “to remember”,

or to “return with the heart”.

Answering his own question, he said, “God remembers us as we are, in our frailty…He returns to us with the heart, because we are in His heart”. We may be “small under heaven and powerless when the earth trembles”, the Pope continued, “but for God we are more precious than anything”.

“Remembering is a key word

for life”, said Pope Francis.

“Remembering gives us the strength not to surrender”.

The Pope admitted that bad memories return, even when we don’t want them to. To free ourselves “from the negative memories that keep us prisoner, from the regrets that paralyse us, we need someone to help us carry the burdens we have inside”, he said. Jesus does not

offer us the “quick and easy solution” of taking away our burdens, explained the Pope.

Instead, He sends us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who transforms “the wounds of the past into memories of salvation…because the Holy Spirit is the rebuilder of hope”.

Vatican News

Pope Francis Views Earthquake Destruction In Early 2017

© L’Osservatore Romano

Editor: Fr. S. Chipolina: editor@uponthisrock.gi. Production Editor: A. Sargent: angela@europeaxess. com. Upon this Rock magazine is entirely supported by advertising and donations. It is run in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar by EuropeAxess Media Ltd. as a not-for-profit project. For Advertisers: This magazine is hand-delivered to homes, churches, hospitals and many businesses around Gibraltar every month.

The digital edition - To discuss your advertising requirements, or promote your church group or charity, call Tel: +350 200 79335 email: angela@europeaxess. com. Editorial is selected by EuropeAxess Media in liaison with the Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar. Neither of these parties is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein, nor do the views and opinions expressed herein necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either party. Advertisers are not endorsed by virtue of advertising in this magazine. EuropeAxess Media Ltd. reserves the right to refuse space to any submissions or advertisements. Efforts have been made to establish copyright owners of images, but if we have used your material, and have not credited you, please contact us to discuss restoration. The magazine is online at uponthisrock.gi. Cover: Pope Francis welcomes Sally Axworthy © Vatican News

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By Devin Watkins

Holy Father thanks seafarers amidCovid-19crisis Photo © Pranodh Mongkolthavorn

Pope Francis thanks maritime personnel and fishermen for their important contribution to feeding humanity, and recalls the difficulties they endure during the coronavirus pandemic.

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n a video message sent Wednesday to the Apostleship of the Sea, Pope Francis recognized the difficulties facing seafarers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He expressed gratitude for their help in feeding humanity despite the risks involved.

“Your work as maritime personnel and fishermen has thus become even more important,” he said, “since it is providing our greater human

family with food and other primary needs.”

Stranded at sea

The coronavirus pandemic, said the Pope, has forced vast changes upon seafarers, leading them to make many sacrifices.

“Long periods spent aboard ships without being able to disembark, separation from families, friends and native countries, and fear of infection,” he said, are a heavy burden to bear.

Anywhere between 150,000 and 200,000 seafarers are currently stranded at sea, according to the UN’s labor agency.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) said recently that lockdown measures have prevented healthy maritime personnel from disembarking. Many completed their tours months

ago but were forced to stay aboard.

Mental health issues and physical exhaustion, ILO said, are affecting many.

Not forgotten

In his message, Pope Francis addressed suffering seafarers directly.

“Know that you are not alone and that you are not forgotten,” he said. “Your work at sea often keeps you apart from others, but you are close to me in my thoughts and prayers, and in those of your chaplains and the volunteers of Stella Maris.”

The Pope reminded them that Jesus’s first disciples were fishermen, something they should take comfort in.

Protected by Our Lady

Pope Francis then offered each seafarer “a message and a prayer of hope, comfort,

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and consolation in the face of whatever hardships you have to endure.”

He also encouraged all those who provide them with pastoral care and spiritual support.

“May the Lord bless each of you, your work, and your families,” he said, “and may the Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, protect you always.”

Stella Maris

The Apostleship of the Sea is a Catholic charity supporting seafarers. Its patron is Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Stella Maris was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in the early 20th century as a network of seafarer chaplaincies in ports throughout the world.

The Apostleship of the Sea’s 216 chaplains work in more than 311 ports in over 30 different countries, including Gibraltar.

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Anne Mesilio writes

A sense of

Living

“Find ecstasy in life, the mere sense of living is joy enough” Emily Dickenson

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t is difficult not to mention Covid-19 even as restrictions on how we lived our lives these past months are easing, it hangs over us like a heavy grey Levanter cloud that we know one day will suddenly be gone, but we are warned that the virus may never leave us though like the Levanter we learn to live with it.

As you read this it will be July, but today, June 6th 2020 as I write this I hope our tentative welcome to Summer will have advanced somewhat and the days of sunshine, beaches, BBQ’s and dining al fresco are proving to be carefree for the most part. However, to quote Pope Francis; “I am thinking of the many people who are weeping, we too accompany them in our hearts. It would not do any harm to weep a bit as Our Lord wept for his people”.

(Jesus Wept, John 11;35) He

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encourages us to pray for the many who are finding this a sorrowful time and may not be coping well.

Life has a tide rhythm all its own, ebb, flow, coming, going, high tide, low tide, and we can be forgiven for wondering if sometimes the lows are more than the highs. It is when we are feeling low that we need that extra stimulus to get up and go. We are driven by an inner force to stay alive for each of us has a purpose and sometimes we can only guess at that, and we may struggle to understand the events that shape our lives.

We are all part of the bigger picture and surely we have all heard, repeatedly over the past months, “we are in this together”, as Covid-19 impacts all our lives. Many lessons will be learned from this unreal time and one of them surely must be the impact the global shut down has had, so positively, on our poor beleaguered planet which was literally gasping for air!

The lifeless emptiness of our towns and cities contributed to global carbon dioxide emissions being down by 17% and while this figure does not really mean much, we can see in our every day how in our cities and suburbs, walking, cycling, electric bikes, and social distancing has contributed to the well being and air quality around us. Population confinement, however much it cost us physically and mentally, (and I feel this has to be processed in due course) has led to drastic changes, which may be temporary, in energy use and

CO2 emissions. This must be a key factor for Governments post Covid-19 when planning for the future. There is no doubt about it now, we, the custodians of this planet were suffocating it in the name of careless greed.

Can we, will we, put our world back together having learned this very valuable lesson?

and will eat just about anything, and I mean that, having seen them devastate my mothers precious garden more than once. So, another goat story made me chuckle.

In Ireland, Cork I think, four mountain goats have been hired to keep a local graveyard environmentally clean and tidy during the Summer months.

How about that!

Fake News

WorldEnvironment Day

June 5th was World Environment Day, Time for Nature… Pope Francis wrote in his popular encyclical on the environment ‘Praise Be To You!’ ‘An integral ecology includes taking time to recover a serene harmony with creation, reflecting on our lifestyle and our ideals, and contemplating the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us.’ Laudato Si’ Help may be at hand, in one word, goats, I kid (pun) you not!! OK, seriously now, in the news recently a herd of goats took over a town centre in Wales helping themselves to hedges and flowers from gardens. I loved that story as my experience of goats has been one of unfailing admiration for them. They are amazing, tough, intelligent, can and do thrive just about anywhere. They are herbivores,

We relied heavily on social media, the news and newspapers to keep us informed of what was going on at home and far from our shores too as some, like me, will have had family living away. The need to trust was, I fear, somewhat eroded by the diet of the term “fake news”, wilful misreading of situations, that has been fed to us in recent years, especially from the USA. Fact and decency have become to mean little as these subliminal messages infiltrate our sub consciousness and erode our trust in what we are hearing. It has earned the dubious term yellow journalism and has rapidly become a catchphrase to cast doubt and aspersions an all sorts of stories. This, believe it or not is not new, on August 21st 1835 the New York Sun published a series of untrue stories about the discovery of life on the moon. I tend to think that this was more in keeping with a prank, but it was untrue for all that. We need to trust. It is a fundamental need that has become scarce in today’s world.

Mature Goat: Dennis Crabtree, Flickr CC

ahead, Perhaps we evaluate the world emotionally these days after being put through that particular wringer which called on us to find reserves of strength and trust we did not know we had.

Emily Dickinsion, American poet 1830-1866; “find ecstasy in life, the mere sense of living is joy enough�

Franciscan Mosaic: Wind

Trust operates in the present tense, hope is for the future, especially when we trust in God as our purpose in life is to seek Him and allow Him to reveal himself to us.

There has to be a purpose to this or otherwise were would we be here? Times have been harsh recently, nothing new since the beginning of time but somehow we survive and carve out for ourselves a way of living, despite not always seeing clearly the way

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rather than any changes in the law.

Is “assumed consent” ethically and legally acceptable?

Consent for a medical procedure is only ethically and legally valid if it: 1. Is informed with all information having been provided in a format that is understandable by the individual.

2. Clearly states what is being consented to.

3. Clearly states the reasons for the proposed process.

4. Is given via a positive act (for example an electronic tickbox or a signature on a form).

5. Is given by a person who has the capacity to make such a decision.

In the past we have all enjoyed the right to consent to our vital organs being taken following our deaths, but no more. Our rights to make up our own minds, to consent or not to be a donor, to be provided with all the information that we need in order to make an informed decision, have all been taken away from us.

We should not take this lightly as it represents a precedent for other personal rights to be taken over by the state. Pope John Paul II spoke out on the importance of this very issue in 2000: The human ‘authenticity’ of such a decisive gesture (donating a vital organ) requires that individuals be properly informed about the processes involved, in order to be in a position to consent or decline in a free and conscientious manner. The consent of relatives has its own ethical validity in the absence of a decision on the part of the donor. Both Catholic and Secular Ethics are in broad agreement as to the essential nature of donor consent, and the acceptability of next-ofkin consent. However, due to the shortage of donor organs there are worrying pressures being exerted for some freedom to take organs from donors without consent. (Pope Saint John Paul II 2000).

So, is it correct to use the term “assumed consent”?

How can it be, when clearly

G OR AN

DONATION Presumed consent for vital organ donation – a good or bad thing?

D

id you know that in the middle of the confusion surrounding the Covid 19 outbreak the Governments of the UK and Gibraltar have removed your right to decide what happens to your body after your death, and that this could even have an impact on the diagnosis of your death itself when the time comes?

What is this change? Until now we all had the right to decide what happens to our bodies during our lives, and following our deaths. Such details as where we wish to be buried, what happens to our bodies after death, whether or not we wish to donate our organs to others, remained in our hands. Following the change, the Government now

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has the right to decide if our organs are to be donated to others, if our funerals are to be delayed so that our organs can be preserved. Our bodies after the diagnosis of death are no longer ours, they are theirs. Our consent to donate our organs, or the organs of our loved ones, is now “assumed”, signifying that we no longer have a say in the matter.

This message is also the one being put to us by our Governments. It seems a very simple step for them to have taken. But why then does the Catechism say “can be meritorious”? Surely it must be so? Unfortunately, it is not that simple, so let us take a look at what we are not being told.

The stated reason for the change: To increase the availability of vital human organs for transplantation purposes.

Is there any evidence that supports the claim that the number of vital organs for transplantation will increase by the introduction of assumed consent?

The truth is that such evidence does not exist. A UK wide Organ Donation Taskforce was set up by the Westminster Government to investigate just this, and I served on that body. We concluded that it was not possible to attribute any increase in the availability of vital organs to the introduction of assumed consent. Some countries that had passed such a law, such as Spain, Austria and Belgium, did have high organ donation rates, whilst others such as Bulgaria and Luxemburg had among the lowest levels of all nations. In fact, the statistics demonstrated that in some countries the donor organ availability levels actually decreased following the adoption of assumed consent! The taskforce found that significant improvements in organ donation rates could be achieved by improvements in infrastructure, education, and by public awareness campaigns,

This of course is a very laudable aim, one which most, if not all of us, would immediately applaud. Many of us would be very happy to donate our organs to those who need them. The gift of passing on life to another is a great gift that demonstrates our love of neighbour. After all, Christ himself offered up his body to open the gates of heaven to us all. The Church is clear on this, teaching us that “the free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be meritorious.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2301.

The problems:

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Surgeon’s Hand image © Sherry Young | Dreamstime.com

Newlaws passed 2 during Covid-19 in respect of

Rev. Dr. Bernard Farrell-Roberts no consent has been given?

The right to consent has been taken from us, without many of us knowing anything about it. This leaves us with the question: is the Government’s removal from us of our right to consent to this major surgical procedure ethically and legally acceptable?

Are there any risks to each of us posed by the introduction of this legislation?

Unfortunately for us, there are some fairly serious risks attached to this change in legislation.

In order for our vital organs to be deemed suitable for transplantation they must be removed in optimum condition, This requires that they either be removed immediately following our death, or that life support machinery is used following our death to keep the organs in excellent condition until they are able to be removed. All this seems pretty sensible and acceptable, until we consider how death is diagnosed.

As death needs to be diagnosed as soon as possible after it

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occurs a new definition was introduced back in the 1960’s, called Brain Death. As the definition states, this occurs when there exists a “total irreversible cessation of all brain activity”, or in Britain “of all activity in the Brain Stem.”

To most of us this would seem quite reasonable. However, take a moment to think about it. How can medical science ever demonstrate irreversibility, especially when someone’s body is on life support, appears to be breathing, is warm to the touch, and has good normal colouring?

No matter how medical science progresses, and it does at an amazing rate, it is always open to revision as we come to know and understand more about our human bodies. Unfortunately modern history is full of cases of the misdiagnosis of Brain Death, despite the best efforts of our physicians as they correctly follow the procedures set out for them.

The truth is that no matter what diagnostic criteria are used, Brain Death must always be declared without “irreversibility” being proved, thus rendering

the diagnosis of death morally uncertain. It simply is not possible to know with absolute certainty that the individual has died, because in order to retrieve vital organs for transplantation the medical profession cannot wait for the traditional signs of death that do prove that death has occurred.

This then is the problem we all face: we all wish to use our vital organs for the benefit of others if this is possible after our death, but the Government have just taken away from us our right to look at all the available information and decide for ourselves if, despite the possible risk of a misdiagnosis, we still wish to donate our vital organs on our death. To do so would then be morally acceptable, as the conditions for valid consent as set out earlier would be fulfilled.

This is why the Catholic Catechism says that: “the free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be meritorious.”

In light of the above should we simply accept this step by the Government

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unchallenged?

The dignity that belongs to every human life demands that their autonomous right to selfdetermination be respected.

God in His wisdom grants us all the gift of free will, and this gift must be respected as it is part of the very essence of being human. In our context of assumed consent, it is clear that freely given validly informed consent must be given for whatever medical treatment or procedure is to be carried out on our human bodies, whether before or after death.

As the UK Supreme Court ruled in 2015: “Doctors must take reasonable care to ensure that the patient is aware of any material risks involved in any treatment/intervention, and of any reasonable alternative”. tinyurl.com/UTR-organ-consent Following the removal of our right to consent to vital organ donation, can we say that we’ve been afforded the rights that the Supreme Court identifies above? If not, what action do you believe we should take?

You must decide.

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Daniela Almeida, John Newton and

ACN provides help for 1 in 10 priests around the world

One Mass celebrated every 23 seconds for ACN’s supporters

M

ass was celebrated roughly every 23 seconds somewhere around the world in 2019 for the intentions of a Catholic charity’s supporters.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) sends stipends from its benefactors to help priests where the Church is suffering or in dire need.

According to ACN’s international annual report for 2019, which was released today (17th June), the charity passed on 1,378,635 Mass offerings from its supporters last year.

Mass stipends represented nearly 16 percent of all donations worldwide and enabled the charity to assist 40,096 priests – roughly

FUNDING AVAILABLE

The Christian Mission Trust provides local Christians with donations for evangelistic initiatives and outreaches.

The Trust is ecumenical and has provided money to many groups, individuals and churches during the last 12 years. It is run by a Board of Trustees.

We invite applications for funding from anyone who wishes to launch an evangelistic initiative or who needs support for an existing Christian missionary activity.

Please write to: The Chairman, Christian Mission Trust, 4 South Pavilion Road, Gibraltar.

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one in every 10 around the world.

The annual report shows that last year the charity’s 23 national offices supported 5,230 projects across 139 countries, meaning that ACN aid went to 1,162 Catholic dioceses, more than a third of the total.

Commenting on the report, Neville KyrkeSmith, national director of Aid to the Church in Need (UK), said: “Mass stipends are a chain of love between ACN’s benefactors in this country and those priests ministering to the suffering Church.

“These Mass stipends provide financial aid for the priests themselves – and enable them to help their people as they carry out their vital pastoral work – and in turn they offer

the holy sacrifice of the Mass for our supporters’ intentions. They are a double or triple blessing.

“We can only accomplish this thanks to the kind benefactors of ACN. “For, as we pass on so many Mass stipends, we know that with the coronavirus crisis, now more than ever priests are relying on these offerings – in some cases they are their only source of income during lockdown.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Aid to the Church in Need has stepped up its support for priests through Mass stipends.

Bishop Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi of Berberati in the Central African Republic said ACN Mass stipends had provided crucial income for priests ministering to the 19 rural parishes in his diocese.

He said: “Thank you very much for your gesture of generosity and sign of solidarity. May the compassion and mercy of the Lord be with you all… especially in this painful and worrying time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Be assured of that I always pray for you and for all those who help you to provide for the needs of the missionary activities of the Church in Africa.”

According to ACN’s annual report, around 38 percent of the charity’s Mass offerings went to Africa in 2019 and more than 29 percent of all the projects were carried out in the continent.

Image: Ukrainian Greek-Catholic priest in the Archeparchy of IvanoFrankivsk celebrating the Divine Liturgy in an empty church because of the COVID19 lockdown (© Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)).

John Pontifex outline how Bishop Carmel Zammit’s Lenten appeal funds are badly needed during the aftermath of the Covid-19 Crisis

FRESH AID FOR CHURCH COMMUNITIES CRIPPLED BY COVID-19 BRAZIL – which has the second highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world – is set to benefit from an emergency aid package just approved by a leading Catholic charity.

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s part of its campaign to support priests and religious working with the weak and vulnerable in areas affected by COVID-19, Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced 11 new projects in Brazil.

Brazil’s health authorities stopped issuing figures of COVD-19 cases on Saturday (6th June) but, according to latest reports, there could be more than 692,000 people with the virus.

ACN’s aid for Brazil will provide support for 169 priests, 141 Sisters, 31 seminarians and 56 lay missionaries helping their local communities during the pandemic.

This includes priests in the state of Ceará, north-east Brazil, where, as of today (8th June), there were 63,957 confirmed cases and 3,981 had died of the virus.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a number of parishes have collected food and other essential supplies to help the most needy.

Some parishes are providing poor families with an evening meal each day – but the money is running out.

Itapipoca diocesan treasurer Fr. Francisco Danízio Silva told ACN that he is counting on the kindness of the ordinary people.

He said: “During these times we are going through, the support of every individual is very important. With the little that we have we can still help many people.

“Our Church is poor and in need, but it is rich in the grace of God and in kind and generous people.”

He explained how with no public Masses – and no collections – the income from the faithful has fallen by around 60 percent, adding “what resources we did have are now becoming exhausted”.

Fr. Danizio said: “Recently we have made great efforts to raise funds, but it is now getting very difficult, since the people themselves have next to nothing.”

He said: “You, the benefactors

of ACN, have helped us greatly.

“During this time, your support is directly linked to the help we can give to these brothers and sisters of ours who need so much… who need our compassion, our attention and our loving support as well.

“I pray to God, through the intercession of his most holy Mother Mary, that he may bless each and every one of you, and that your generosity will be the source of your salvation.

“May we never forget that helping our neighbour is one of the most effective ways of imitating our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.”

Image: A lay member of the Shalom Community delivering a food parcel during the pandemic (© Aid to the Church in Need (ACN))

The world is largely silent in the face of Christian persecution. The scale of the problem is so great, silence is no longer acceptable. Persecuted Christians need YOU - and all of us! Together our prayers and actions can make a difference.

You can PLEDGE YOUR SOLIDARITY by: • Praying ACN’s Prayer found in leaflets in your local Church, or your own prayers for Persecuted Christians in danger.

• Sharing this article and Christian Persecution facts with others so that all understand the need.

Set up a monthly gift:

Bishop Carmel Zammit Lenten Appeal for‘Aid to the Church in Need’, Gibraltar International Bank, Account Name: ‘Trustees RCC/CAN’ Account Number: 00812022, Sort Code: 60-83-14.

ACN has announced a £4.38m COVID-19 emergency aid programme. uponthisrock.gi 11

Interfaith

Elise Ann Allen writes

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Paul Haring/CNS

D

uring a virtual tea party honouring the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II held last month, diplomats and representatives of various faith communities joined voices in recognizing the efforts made by the Catholic Church to assist the sick and needy during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

In a recorded address, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, praised the “important role of the Catholic Church on the ground” during the pandemic.

Insisting that the Church and the government of the United Kingdom share similar priorities, he highlighted issues such as joint campaigns on human trafficking and modern slavery as well as ongoing conversations about freedom of religion and preventing sexual violence in conflict situations.

“We stand together on these important issues that confront the world today,” he said,

noting that he recently hosted an interfaith roundtable on how to bring together faith communities and governments in tackling COVID-19.

Specifically, he praised the Catholic Church for “delivering upon the needs of the most vulnerable,” saying the Church plays an essential role “in assuring that those around us get the service and support that they need.”

“For me, as a person of faith, as a Muslim, as a person who believes in humanity, and as I know from my work with the Catholic Church, that whether we look out on our own lives, our families, our communities, our towns, our cities, our countries, or indeed internationally, [what’s important] is the interdependence of humanity,” Ahmad said, insisting that it’s what “defines people of all faiths, that’s what brings us together.”

Ahmad spoke at the June 16 virtual “tea” organized by the British Embassy to the Holy See to mark Queen Elizabeth

II’s official birthday – her actual birthday, on which she turned 94 this year, is April 21 – and to recognize the Catholic Church’s global efforts in fighting the coronavirus.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston was also on the call, as was the President of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorrondo, officials from the Vatican’s department for Integral Human Development, and representatives from the Lay Center in Rome and the Catholic charity organization Caritas International.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for Relations with States, was also present at the event. It was more or less de rigueur for Gallagher to participate, since he’s also the most senior Englishman in the Vatican.

Sr. Jolanda Kafka, president of the Union of International Superiors General (UISG), and Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, Father General of the Society of Jesus and president of the Union of Superiors General (USG), each spoke on the efforts that women and men religious are making worldwide to combat the virus, specifically through service to the poor and educational and information campaigns in developing countries.

Both Kafka and Sosa voiced their belief that the coronavirus crisis, despite its devastating

effects, can lead to positive change, both for people and the environment, and to a deepening of faith.

In her remarks, British Ambassador to the Holy See Sally Axworthy noted that this year the Queen’s birthday falls on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a follower of St. Francis of Assisi who cared for the poor.

She highlighted efforts being made by the British government to fight the coronavirus, including a June 4 vaccine summit, noting that scientists at both the Oxford and London universities have begun clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine.

The UK “is determined that when a vaccine comes, it should be available for everyone,” she said, explaining that money raised at the summit will go toward preparing the world’s poorest countries for the roll out of the vaccine and to immunize some 300 million children against infections diseases.

She said her government has also pledged to offer up to 850 million Euros to strengthen the healthcare and education systems in developing countries.

Yet while governments are doing their share, Axworthy said “the Church and other faiths make contributions in ways that we cannot match.”

Pointing to Pope Francis’s March 27 prayer event in an empty and rainy St. Peter’s Square, she said the pope “gave us hope in the darkness when the virus first struck.”

She also voiced gratitude for his livestreamed daily Masses, during which he prayed for the “unsung heroes” of the pandemic.

She also praised the Catholic Church’s practical assistance to needy communities, saying the Church as the world’s largest non-state healthcare provider has been “on the front line of fighting the disease.”

“We know that the Catholic Church brings healthcare to some of the most deprived places in the world, and that its

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hUnityagainstCovid-19 Report from a Virtual Tea Party held at the British Embassy in Rome recently.

work has put the health of the local population often above their own,” she said, insisting that “The Church’s traditional role of caring for the poor is particularly important now).”

Axworthy also said the Church is at the forefront of the “Building Back Better” approach to the coronavirus, and highlighted several Vatican initiatives, including a special coronavirus task force and a new fund aimed to help Romans who lost jobs due to COVID-19 get back on their feet.

In his remarks, Gallagher praised the efforts made by Queen Elizabeth to comfort and console her people throughout the pandemic.

“We have been greatly blessed by her example of service and perseverance. For people of faith and for Christians in particular, she has been a source of encouragement and inspiration,” he said, adding that, “In the present global emergency, she has once again, as in so many moments of crisis, offered us resolve and comfort.

Her empathy with those who are suffering is always has always been heartfelt.”

Speaking of Pope Francis, Gallagher said it was the pope’s desire from the beginning of the outbreak “that the Church roll out its field hospital and come to the aid of all who are threatened

by COVID-19.”

“He has encouraged us all to step up to the mark in the greatest challenge of this generation,” he said, adding that “The shocking and frightening reality the whole world has been grappling with has shaken so much of what we took for granted.”

“In reflecting on this experience, we know there is an opportunity for conversion.

Questions are inevitably raised about the most fundamental things, as false securities fall away in the earthquake of these times,” he said.

Gallaher also pointed to numerous initiatives being

carried out by the Catholic Church, including by those working in the roughly 5,000 Catholic-inspired hospitals and 16,000 dispensaries worldwide, as well as Caritas International, whose efforts specifically benefit migrants, refugees and internally displaced people.

He noted that many bishops’ conferences and dioceses throughout the pandemic have urged both pastors and faithful to follow state regulations.

“Whatever criticisms there might have been in this regard are being resolved, and everyone is looking forward to progress in normalization of access to and celebrations in our places of worship,” he said, insisting that whatever efforts are made in fighting the coronavirus “must be done in a spirit of service to all, particularly those most in need at this time.”

Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni,

Chief Rabbi of Rome, also chimed in, insisting that the pandemic and its long-term effects are far from over, but said, “We are only at the beginning.”

“What has been done by the Catholic Church has been done by all denominations of Christian faith, Muslims and Jewish organizations,” he said, insisting that joint efforts to help those in need have fostered for himself “a new understanding of the world dialogue, the word to do good things (together).”

In a comment left in an on-line ‘chatbox’ for the virtual event, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich thanked the Catholic Church for being “on the front lines of helping people through” the pandemic, and she praised Pope Francis “for his many efforts,” including a new fund to help the unemployed in Rome.

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Gingrich applauded the numerous faith-based organizations and religious communities “who have provided health care, spiritual care, and other essential needs,” insisting that her embassy “will continue to support and champion the work of faith communities to respond to and eradicate COVID-19.”

Image Left: Sally Axworthy, British ambassador to the Holy See, speaks during the presentation of the UK Independent Review on Persecution of Christians, in Rome July 15, 2019. Also pictured are Mgr. Antoine Camilleri, an official at the Vatican Secretariat of State; Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch; and Fr. Boniface Mendes from the Diocese of Faisalabad, Pakistan

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SAMUEL - God’s Special Gift

A Story by Manolo Galliano continues to be serialised

This is the story of Samuel, a child with a mental disability and his encounter with Jesus, who became his very special friend.

Continuing from Issue 228

Epilogue

Samuel’s body was discovered later that day by Roman soldiers despatched by the Procurator, Pontius Pilate, in order to investigate reports about the disappearance of the crucified body of Jesus the Nazarene, the so-called

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Messiah. The centurion in charge, one Marcus Gallio, found him lying in a small vegetable allotment planted with cabbages, very near to some new tombs just below Mount Golgotha.

For a fleeting moment, the centurion thought that the boy was actually asleep and not dead and he had to check his pulse to make absolutely

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certain. He noticed that there were no marks on the body and was quite disconcerted by the happy smile on his face.

Some time later, Samuel’s distraught father, arrived on the scene, after having been informed by the authorities that the corpse of his missing son had finally been discovered.

Jacob was feeling quite devastated by the news of his son’s untimely death and still reeling over the summary execution of Jesus, when on the way there, he met Mary Magdalene.

Incredibly, he noticed that she was in an ecstatic mood, informing him with great composure that their crucified Master, who had been buried three days previously in a nearby tomb had risen from the dead, as he had always promised. She also told him about the message of the angel and how its shining face was exactly like little Samuel’s.

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All this added to Jacob’s great confusion and when he was finally able to see his young son’s inert body, which had been covered by an old blanket, he broke down in uncontrollable tears. Then, slowly, as he gently caressed the waxen features, he was quite taken aback by the beautiful and beatific smile on Samuel’s face.

It was then that he remembered something that Jesus had said some time back: “Whoever hears my words and believes in Him who sent me, has eternal life. He will not be judged, but has already passed from death to life”.

Looking down again at Samuel’s face, he suddenly realised the absolute truth of these words and all that Mary Magdalene had told him.

That Jesus had indeed risen from the dead and was the Messiah, the son of the living God and that in some strange

Story so far can be found at uponthisrock.gi

way, Samuel had formed part of this awesome plan for the redemption of mankind.

Over the next few months and years, Jacob, with an everincreasing number of believers, continued together in close fellowship, forming part of the new church in Jerusalem and preaching the Good News.

His daughter Rachel, was also baptised as a Christian and in due course married, by the strangest of coincidences, the newly-converted Roman

centurion who had originally discovered the body of her brother. They soon moved to Italy where they became leaders of the first Christian communities in the Campania region and had a large family.

But what of little Samuel? Well, if this story were to be true, and with God everything is possible, then most certainly he should be declared the patron saint of all persons with mental disabilities.

How our sponsors are directly helping to fight Covid-19!

Several images in this month’s magazine are supplied by Dreamstime image library who are donating 5% of the cost to WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Upon This Rock would like to thank our sponsors without whom the ongoing work of the magazine, and these donations, would not happen.

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Community Page

The Cornerstone Bookshop is a Catholic/ Christian bookshop.

We stock religious books for children and adults, booklets, CDs, DVDs and Nativity sets.

We also sell Gift Vouchers!

For opening hours please call: 200 50795

215 main street

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