In a now deleted retweet, the European Council’s president on Tuesday posted a cartoon on Twitter of Boris Johnson as a ‘joker’ during Brexit negotiations, as seen in The New European.
Charles Michel shared the illustration by Andy Davey of the UK Prime Minister playing what looks like poker with EU negotiator Michel Barnier and president Ursula von der Leyen, whilst Johnson holds a series of Joker cards in his hand.
“So will Boris Johnson do as Charles Michel wishes and lay his cards on the table? I’m not sure anyone would be wiser”, the caption of the tweet.
The post was eventually removed but not before netizens had time to join in the joke.
Others described the cartoon as showing Johnson with a “straight flush”.
Time for the UK to put its cards on the table. #EUCO #15-16October
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) October 7, 2020
”The EU is doing its utmost to find an agreement with the UK, but not at any cost”, Michel said, following news that the prime minister threatened to withdraw from talks within the coming week.
Contrary to official word from Trump’s mouthpieces, Olivia Nuzzi of New York Magazine reports that Trump was at one point severely ill and at substantial risk of not surviving:
Donald Trump was on the phone, and he was talking about dying. It was Saturday, October 3, and while his doctor had told the outside world that the president’s symptoms were nothing to worry about, Trump, cocooned in his suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was telling those close to him something very different.
“I could be one of the diers,” he said. …
Nine months into the pandemic and one month away from Election Day, the president considered for the first time that the disease killing him in the polls, threatening his political future, might just kill him, too. On the phone he remarked sarcastically, “This change of scenery has been great.”… Then he admitted something scary. That how he felt might not mean much in the end.
“This thing could go either way. It’s tricky. They told me it’s tricky,” the president said. “You can tell it can go either way.”
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More incredibly, the New York Times reports that Donald Trump planned to dress as Superman on his release from the hospital, reveling in his pretend-Übermensch status to thrill his supporters:
In several phone calls last weekend from the presidential suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Mr. Trump shared an idea he was considering: When he left the hospital, he wanted to appear frail at first when people saw him, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. But underneath his button-down dress shirt, he would wear a Superman T-shirt, which he would reveal as a symbol of strength when he ripped open the top layer. He ultimately did not go ahead with the stunt.
Trump is an expert political performance artist, a professional wrestling heel who is also the (illegitimate) president of the United States. Contrary to the hopes of too many members of the chattering class, Trump’s brush with death has not humbled him or caused some type of personal revelation that would cause him to become less cruel, vile and tasteless.
While in the hospital and during his supposed convalescence, Donald Trump has continued his fascist authoritarian behavior, demanding that leading Democrats like Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton be charged with treason for their supposed “coup” attempt. During a phone interview with Fox News last Thursday, Trump continued his attacks on Sen. Kamala Harris, the first black woman to be nominated on a major-party presidential ticket, calling her a “monster” and a “communist,” among other slurs.
Several of Donald Trump’s followers were recently arrested by the FBI for plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and perhaps kill her. These right-wing terrorists also planned to attack police and other law enforcement agents if need be. The Trump regime has never explicitly disavowed the right-wing militias and other terrorist groups who serve as the president’s foot soldiers and hooligans.
What do such emotions and reactions — including the obligatory demands that Trump must be sent positive wishes and prayers — reveal about America’s culture at present? Is there a “right” or “wrong” way for the American people to react to Trump’s illness? Given their professed values, should liberals and progressives be held to a higher standard in their reactions to Donald Trump’s encounter with a life-threatening disease?
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In an effort to answer these questions, I recently spoke with Dr. Cornel West. He is a philosopher, public intellectual, activist, scholar and author of several bestselling books, including “Democracy Matters,” “Race Matters” and “Black Prophetic Fire.”
West is professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard and a professor emeritus at Princeton. In this wide-ranging conversation he also shares his thoughts on democracy and the recent presidential and vice-presidential debates, as well as how the American people should best focus their emotions and energies once Trump is no longer president.
You are a philosopher. How should people manage their feelings about Donald Trump having been sickened by the coronavirus? Is it wrong to be happy at the possibility of Donald Trump receiving his comeuppance and karmic punishment from COVID? He has done so much evil.
What you are feeling is Janus-faced. Your feelings have two sides to them. Any kind of love and justice has to have serious accountability. In that way, Donald Trump has been unaccountable. As such, death would be a certain kind of accountability. There is nothing wrong with that conception of accountability. But the other side is a certain kind of contempt and revenge in the form of “You did it to us. Now we’re going to do it to you. You’ve been doing us in. Now somebody — God, providence, fate, fortune — is going to do you in.”
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Democratic accountability is not same thing as revenge or divine retribution or the like. It is of a different register. Democracy is about human justice. Democracy is for we mortals. It’s for we finite folk. And we finite folk, we’ve got to have some control over our propensity toward contempt and revenge, or it just adds more to the contempt and revenge in the world. But if we lean into love and justice and there’s some accountability — with Trump getting sick, it may have been a certain kind of accountability, in terms of the virus coming back to haunt him — there is a different kind of spirit at work, one that you want to preserve.
Are liberals and progressives allowed to enjoy schadenfreude, those feelings of joy at another person’s just and deserved misfortune? Or is that sentiment outside of what it should mean to be a progressive?
The best of what it means to be a progressive is that one never succumbs to any kind of bitterness, revenge, hoping somebody collapses or even laughing at somebody’s misfortune or downfall. You are using that person, such as Trump, as a point of reference for your own sense of who you are and what you’re doing. Don’t surrender those values.
That’s the reason why Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” If you are really concerned about poor people and the wretched of the earth, then when you love your enemy, you’re not loving the part of them that are gangsters. You’re not loving their hatred. You’re not loving their domination. You are just recognizing that they too are made in the image of God. Therefore you are using the point of reference for who you are, in the best of your own tradition as a barometer and guidepost. There is nothing sadomasochistic about loving one’s enemies. Do not ever let them set the terms upon which you define yourself and your reality. If you do such a thing, you will be reacting to their hatred your whole life.
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What of this expectation that the American people should send Donald Trump goodwill because he was hospitalized and apparently in perilous condition? As some have pointed out, such an expectation is emotionally abusive, in which where the victim is somehow supposed to empathize with and care for the person who is hurting them.
You must ensure that you are living a high-quality life in your own mind, heart and soul. When you are wishing Donald Trump goodwill, all you are saying is, “I refuse to be the gangster you are because you have been giving us ill will.” I do believe that the golden rule is still worthwhile. And if a higher power takes Donald Trump away, then he’s gone.
How does one resolve an expectation that they should wish goodwill on an evil person such as Trump?
There is an element of a person’s humanity that is never fully reducible to one’s gangster and thuggish activity. That’s why the golden rule still has some applicability. Donald Trump still has loved ones. He still has folks who care for him. That means he is still a human being. Once you completely remove someone from the human family, you end up doing the same things that have been done to Black people with racism and white supremacy. If you let yourself be seduced by such forces and put people outside the human family, than you end up in the gutter along with the people who committed that first wrong. I refuse to go there.
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The type of conversation we are engaging in is very rare in America’s public discourse. The Age of Trump and this season of death has created a moral test for the United States and its people.
We saw that during the vice-presidential debate. The spiritual decay is so deep. Donald Trump has contributed to such a debased public culture and political culture that you have someone like Mike Pence, who can rationalize American fascism with a smile and be calm doing it. The moderator, Susan Page, made no attempt to keep Pence accountable whatsoever. Kamala Harris was doing the best she could to preserve her dignity. She knew Pence would be lying nonstop. She knows the disrespect is coming at her and the arrogance is flowing from Pence right at her. The condescension is flowing. The haughtiness is flowing against her too. Pence was trying to seize control of the debate and no one was trying to impose accountability on him. Kamala Harris tried several times. She did the best she could.
Pence’s behavior during the debate was just the culture of neofascism in real time, done with a smile. We should not be overwhelmed and surprised by such an assault. We must be honest and candid about the depths of the decay and decrepitude that we as a nation are dealing with, in the form of Trump and Pence and their allies and movement.
When I see Mike Pence I think of Indiana, which was a fortress for the Ku Klux Klan during the early 20th century. In another era, Pence would be the type who could go from the Klavern to the boardroom of a bank. I worry that too many people believe that evil does not wear a business suit.
I believe that Mike Pence has been Trumpified. He has been shaped even more in the image of Donald Trump since becoming vice president. Pence loves the power. He loves the visibility. He loves the position of being vice president. In that way we can see the deepening corruption of Mike Pence’s soul. That is why Pence was overflowing with toxic masculinity during the debate. Pence acted like he does not have to listen to anyone. Somebody asks Pence a question and he responds like they are nonentities. Pence just decides to ignore them and say what he wants to say. When Kamala Harris would try to interject and have her time, Pence looked at her like, “Do you really expect me to respect you? I’m Mike Pence. I’m part of the neofascist culture. We don’t respect people like you.” In doing that, Pence was also disrespecting the American people as the audience for what should have been a very important dialogue.
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Any discussion of Mike Pence should also include “Christian fascist” in how he is described.
Eighty-one percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump. He got 65% of white men and over 50% of white women. That is another sign of the cultural decay in this country. White supremacy is the public face of American neofascism. From the Ku Klux Klan to the White Citizens Councils, white Christians have always played a fundamental role in promoting white supremacist attitudes and practices.
In terms of deliberative democracy or communicative democracy, what did you see when you watched these first two debates?
Public life in America has become so emptied out and vacuous that the very notion of there being a public conversation, let alone a high-quality public conversation, is gone. The debates are an empty theatrical spectacle of talking points, at their best, and at their worst just bully-driven attacks and assaults on each other. I mean, Harris is much more intellectually talented than [Pence] is. In that way Joe Biden did not have any chance at all in his debate with Donald Trump.
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Trump’s debate with Biden was an exercise in fascism and authoritarianism. Trump won that debate, by those criteria. Unfortunately, too many people in the mainstream media and the general public keep applying old, comfortable standards, and in doing so frame their understanding of Trump’s strategy, and this political moment more generally, around polls and focus groups. Trump’s goal was to mock the premise of even having a debate. It was all the worst sort of demagogic, authoritarian political theater for him.
I would go even farther. I would say that Trump was not only was mocking, but fascist. One of the rhetorical strategies of a fascist is to beat your audience down, make the people feel as though there is no hope. The people must be made to feel that there is no other possibility. They may hate you, the authoritarian fascist and demagogue, but they hate the whole political process too. The people then become downtrodden in spirit: Their spirits are so crushed they cannot be moved to vote for anybody.
When Trump left the debate, he and his people likely said, “You not only won, you achieved your objective. You beat Biden down. You beat the moderator down. You beat the audience down. You beat the American people down.”
We are in a world-historical moment. As Election Day approaches, and whatever may happen next in this country it feels exhilarating, scary and exhausting all at the same time. As human beings we do not see a moment of such consequence very often, if ever, in our lifetimes. Please help me navigate those feelings – feelings which I am sure many other people in this country and around the world are also experiencing. It is like rollercoaster of sorts.
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It is like living in the 1960s in Africa, Asia, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the apartheid American South. Between 1955 to 1970 was to live in the most world-historical transforming moment in a very long time. At present, we are living in a similar moment, with the Age of Trump and this upcoming election. But in this moment as compared to the previous one, there is ecological catastrophe, economic catastrophe, social catastrophe and spiritual catastrophe. There is a lack of ability for too many to imagine a world and reality that is worth fighting for, sacrificing for and even dying for.
Let us assume that there is some type of justice in the universe and Donald Trump is voted out on Election Day or otherwise removed from office. When that happens, there are going to be parties and celebrations in the streets. A joyous wave will sweep over the United States. What should good Americans do with that energy going forward?
If the leader of a neofascist movement dies, that is the easy victory. Now we have to deal with the source of the fascist movement itself. To do that here and now, American society must reshape a whole discourse and public conversation to make sure that poor people and other vulnerable people are at the center of the conversation and the agenda for change. If we maintain our core values and commitments, then if we are killed in the struggle we can say, “Here’s the gift. Something bigger than me, because my life itself was a gift that came from something bigger than me.” That sacrifice helps to sustain and create the positive change.
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NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for home GKishanReddy on Tuesday inaugurated the 21st All India Conference of Directors, Fingerprint Bureau 2020. He also inaugurated the eCyber Lab set up by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In his address, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government believes in zero tolerance in crime and terror. “Under the leadership of Union home minister Amit Shah, our aim is to create Crime Free India,” he added. He further stated that the government does not believe in viewing a crime from the prism of caste, creed, religion or region, as crime is against humanity and peace. The government would never tolerate crimes against women and the downtrodden and will take all measures in ensuring speedy and decisive justice for all victims, MHA stated in a press release. “Although law and order is a state subject, the Union Government has an important role in monitoring and tracking crime, in the modernization of police forces, and in capacity building and in extending assistance to state governments in improving policing,” said Reddy. He added that Union home minister, Amit shah has emphasized on the importance of modernization of police forces. During the financial year 2019-20, the government of India released Rs. 780 crore for the modernization of police across India. “Emphasizing on the importance of fingerprints, Reddy said that a fingerprint is an essential tool because of its uniqueness, permanency, individuality and ease in the acquisition. He added that the digitization of records and fingerprint data is an important step forward in documenting and tracking crimes and criminals and expressed his confidence that the fully computerized National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) would soon become functional and benefit police forces,” MHA said in a press release. Director NCRB, Ramphal Pawar said, NAFIS will be a game-changer in partnership with NCRB. NAFIS will also provide aid to investigating officers in identifying criminals based on their fingerprints on a real-time basis, MHA stated in its press release. Senior officials of Union ministry of home affairs were also present along with officers of all three training centres of NCRB in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh via video-conferencing.
Despite massive detentions and masked men beating people and dragging them into police vans, Belarus’s anti-government protests continue. Even the elderly are taking to the streets in several Belarusian cities, including here in Minsk.
They demand the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, who they say has ruled the former Soviet republic with an iron fist for 26 years. Demonstrators do not believe he won the August 9th presidential election with 80 percent the vote.
But the authorities are fighting back. Police even fired stun grenades and teargas during an unauthorized rally in the capital, Minsk. Footage has emerged of police vehicles unleashing a powerful orange liquid from a cannon into crowds.
And authorities have now authorized security forces to use lethal force in response to what they view as increasingly radicalized, violent anti-Lukashenko groups.
The use of live firearms would mark a significant escalation in the two-month standoff between Lukashenko and protesters.
Eu sanctions
Responding to the crackdown, European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday it was time to sanction Lukashenko himself, explained the EU‘s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “We saw a strong and disproportionate response to the demonstrators again. There has not been any signal from the Belarus authorities to engage in any kind of conversation, in any kind of talks – they have not accepted the OSCE mission,” the top diplomat told reporters.
“I had the opportunity to talk about it with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. A set of countries has proposed a new set of names, among them [Aleksandr] Lukashenko himself, and all members [of the Foreign Affairs Council] accepted this proposal…” he added.
Borrell clarified that to avoid sanctions, he and other officials should enter into talks with the opposition and end a crackdown on protesters.
This month, EU leaders already imposed sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes on 40 officials in Belarus. The 27-nation bloc believes they are responsible for violence against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, and reporters.
Those on the sanctions list are also accused of “misconduct” during the recent presidential election.
RedHill Biopharma Announces Partnerships to Expand Manufacturing for COVID-19 Therapeutic Candidate Opaganib – Book Publishing Industry Today – EIN Presswire
An EU delegation led by H.E. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission, and H.E. Janez Lenarcic, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management visited Ethiopia for a dialogue with the Government, IOM and migrants.
Addis Ababa – With the European Union’s (EU) revitalized commitment to a single cohesive migration policy as set out in its new Pact on Migration and Asylum, a high-level delegation from the European Union visited Ethiopia for a dialogue with the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), IOM Ethiopia and migrants.
The delegation was led by H.E. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission, and H.E. Janez Lenarcic, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, who visited an IOM Transit Centre in Addis Ababa.
Funded by the EU and other partners, the transit centre provides Ethiopian returnees with the post-arrival assistance they need to return to their home communities with dignity and to rebuild their lives. The migration stories shared by migrants and discussions with the GoE led by H.E. Tsion Teklu, State Minister for Business and Diaspora Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maureen Achieng, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), reinforced the need to build on proven successes in scaling up return assistance, sustainable reintegration and livelihood development in migration-prone communities.
“During my visit to the IOM Transit Centre for Ethiopian migrant returnees, I met Najat, a 12-year-old girl. She has just been returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and her story is beyond what a child should ever have to endure”, said H.E. Josep Borrell.
The delegation also visited European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) -funded projects in the Somali region, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Qoloji hosting over 80,000 people.
The European Union is among IOM’s major donors supporting the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration program, IOM’s response to the returnees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the humanitarian response in displacement settings.
Maureen Achieng, on her part, said, “The glaring gap we continue to grapple with is that of reintegration. Trends in recent years in terms of rates of re-emigration underline the critical importance of ensuring returning migrants are sustainably reintegrated. Without this, compelling push and pull factors continue to put many of these vulnerable youth into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. It is critically urgent that we break this vicious cycle.”
Over the past three years, IOM has assisted 20,712 Ethiopian returnees from transit and destination countries on the Eastern, Southern and Northern routes. Out of these returnees, 934 were provided with reintegration and livelihood support. Reintegration and livelihood support are among the major areas for which Ethiopia’s Government has requested IOM support.
For more information, please contact IOM Ethiopia: Alemayehu Seifeselassie, Email: [email protected] or Krizia Kaye Viray, Mobile: +251993531220, Email: [email protected]
A Moneyval team of experts wrapped-up what has been described as a positive and collaborative on-site visit to the Vatican on Tuesday.
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said the meetings, that took place during the evaluation visit, “were held in a constructive and cooperative atmosphere.”
Known as ‘Moneyval’, the Committee is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism. It also makes recommendations to authorities in respect to necessary improvements of their systems.
The visit was to assess the effectiveness of the legislative and institutional measures adopted by Holy See jurisdictions in recent years within this context. It was undertaken as part of a routine evaluation round system established in 2019.
An important step
The Holy See statement said the just-ended assessment visit represents“a further important step of the evaluation process on the effectiveness of the system for preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, which will end with the adoption of the Mutual Evaluation Report during the Plenary Assembly scheduled for spring 2021, consistently with the internal procedures of the Moneyval Committee.”
It concluded noting that “the authorities of the Holy See extend their heartfelt and profound gratitude to the team of evaluators and to the members of the Secretariat of the Moneyval Committee.”
Pope Francis welcomed the Moneyval team on Thursday highlighting the need for clean finance at the service of humanity and for a system that does not oppress the weakest and those who are in greatest need.
Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin welcomed the Moneyval evaluation team when it arrived in the Vatican on 30 September, reiterating the commitment and engagement of the Holy See and Vatican City State to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Addis Ababa – With the European Union’s (EU) revitalized commitment to a single cohesive migration policy as set out in its new Pact on Migration and Asylum, a high-level delegation from the European Union visited Ethiopia for a dialogue with the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), IOM Ethiopia and migrants.
The delegation was led by H.E. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission, and H.E. Janez Lenarcic, the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, who visited an IOM Transit Centre in Addis Ababa.
Funded by the EU and other partners, the transit centre provides Ethiopian returnees with the post-arrival assistance they need to return to their home communities with dignity and to rebuild their lives. The migration stories shared by migrants and discussions with the GoE led by H.E. Tsion Teklu, State Minister for Business and Diaspora Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maureen Achieng, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), reinforced the need to build on proven successes in scaling up return assistance, sustainable reintegration and livelihood development in migration-prone communities.
“During my visit to the IOM Transit Centre for Ethiopian migrant returnees, I met Najat, a 12-year-old girl. She has just been returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and her story is beyond what a child should ever have to endure”, said H.E. Josep Borrell.
The delegation also visited European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) -funded projects in the Somali region, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Qoloji hosting over 80,000 people.
The European Union is among IOM’s major donors supporting the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration program, IOM’s response to the returnees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the humanitarian response in displacement settings.
Maureen Achieng, on her part, said, “The glaring gap we continue to grapple with is that of reintegration. Trends in recent years in terms of rates of re-emigration underline the critical importance of ensuring returning migrants are sustainably reintegrated. Without this, compelling push and pull factors continue to put many of these vulnerable youth into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. It is critically urgent that we break this vicious cycle.”
Over the past three years, IOM has assisted 20,712 Ethiopian returnees from transit and destination countries on the Eastern, Southern and Northern routes. Out of these returnees, 934 were provided with reintegration and livelihood support. Reintegration and livelihood support are among the major areas for which Ethiopia’s Government has requested IOM support.
For more information, please contact IOM Ethiopia: Alemayehu Seifeselassie, Email: [email protected] or Krizia Kaye Viray, Mobile: +251993531220, Email: [email protected]
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Walesis to receive vital funds from the British government to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
This financial lifeline is thanks to the British Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund.
Around 445 organisations will share £103 million, including the Catholic Church in England.
The funding will be used to “help restart vital reconstruction work and maintenance on cherished heritage sites, keeping venues open and supporting those working in the sector.”
It was announced on Monday that the Catholic Trust for England and Wales has been granted £3million from this fund, “to distribute to Grade I and II historic Catholic churches across England.”
The Bishops’ Conference said the funding “will provide much needed support for these important historic buildings – helping them fund essential repairs and remain open both for their regular visitors, and the wider community.”
Speaking about the grant,the Most Reverend George Stack, Chair of the Patrimony Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said:
“We’re extremely grateful to the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage for this grant of £3million to help with the maintenance, upkeep and repair of a number of our Grade I and II listed buildings in England.”
Impact of pandemic
He went on to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the many planned projects which have been unable to proceed, and many churches have not been able to carry out “much needed repairs.”
“This grant will give encouragement and support to local congregations determined to preserve and enhance these churches which are so important a part of our national heritage,” he said.
Journalist Elena Curtis, who has just published a book entitled “50 Catholic Churches to See Before You Die,” which covers England and Wales, told Vatican Radio the funding is a huge boost at a time when so many churches are suffering.
“It’s recognition by the government that churches are really suffering very very seriously because of the pandemic. The estimates for the Catholic Church range of a loss of between half and three-quarters of their income, so it’s huge.”
The Culture Recovery Fund is designed to secure the future of Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues with emergency grants and loans.
Church leaders in Malawi have appealed to government authorities to increment protection measures for its citizens and for Catholic churches that have increasingly come under attack by criminals in the past few months.
The appeal comes in the wake of an attack last week by armed bandits who desecrated a parish community at Nsanama, in the district of Machinga, in Malawi’s Mangochi Diocese.
It is the third such attack on Catholic parishes and institutions in the span of two months.
The parish priest in Nsanama, Fr. Matthew Likambale, reports that on the night of 7 October, the intruders attacked the guard with a metal rod and a machete and restrained him before entering the premises.
The armed bandits then broke into the Convent of the Canossian Sisters and took the Blessed Sacrament. They also pressured the nuns for the whereabouts of the parish priest.
“I want you to know that we had a terrible night after the thieves attacked the Convent of the Canossian Sisters,” Fr. Likambale recounts. “They were looking for me. They pressured the nuns to reveal where I was, but they kept saying that I was not in the convent.”
In all, the bandits made away with cash, a laptop, cell phones and the Holy Eucharist.
Bishop’s appeal
Disturbed by the news, Bishop Montfort Stima of Mangochi called on the government “to do everything possible to protect the citizens of Malawi, including the Catholic Church.” However, he added “I know that the government and the police cannot protect every private home.”
The Bishop, therefore, appealed for all to work together to prevent the reoccurrence of such attacks.
Third attack in two months
In September, both St. Patrick’s parish in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe and the parish of Kankao in the diocese of Mangochi were attacked by armed bandits.
Following the September attack on the parish of Kankao, Bishop Stima issued a statement inviting the faithful in the Mangochi diocese to participate in a novena which began on 14 September to pray to Our Lord for those involved to be found.
