There was a delivery of flowers to the alms houses. The flowers came in a long cardboard box so there was no guessing what was inside.
But I would guess they were something more unusual than the crocuses
more exotic than daffodils that bloom in profusion today on Mothers Day.
Spring is in the air and such a change from last week’s snow and ice.
sorry for the off topic but anyone heard about this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-42607652
seems like something strange going on in abingdon!
This is a rather old story. There has been no physical or sexual abuse. The priest behaved unwisely but not criminally and has been suspended (I understand) for two years. The disciplinary process has met the standards that one would hope for.
I pray that the teenager recovers his emotional and spiritual equilibrium. What he needs now is time and space without speculation from the sidelines.
There is nothing for ghouls here. Let the one without sin throw the first stone.
What a weirdo. In psychology it is the white collar effect. We do not suspect clergymen, doctors bank managers etc of misdeeds. In reality they can be just as guilty of crimes and personality defects as anyone else. The crime is that the establishment tries to cover it up. Most religeons try to dominate and have power over people.
Janet: I did not realise that you were a qualified psychologist – although your language does seem a little colourful for someone from that profession. “Weirdo” is not a technical term I recognise. Nor have I come across the expression “the while collar effect” as a psychological category.
Since I am not a psychologist, I may have missed some important insight. I suspect not.
We are all human and we are all (as you suggest) potentially capable of heroism and horror. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things. This is hardly news. It is the human condition.
There has been no attempt to cover anything up in this particular case. The offence was reported to the appropriate authorities, the matter was investigated and the offender has been punished. What is more, the matter has been reported in the public domain.
Climb down from your high horse, Janet, and remember that there are broken people here. They all need more than your moral indignation. Kicking people when they are down is not an attractive way of carrying on.
I watched Being Blacker (BBC 2) last night. It was a documentary about a good man who made a big enough mistake to be sentenced to 30 months in prison. There was no outrage, just simple reportage. It was a humane and human response to what happens when things go wrong in people’s lives.
Catch it on iPlayer; it is a reminder of failure and of the importance of compassion.
I am going to a talk run by Mostly Books featuring the author, Tara West. She was raised by Mormon servivalists and did not attend school until she was 16. She went on to get a PhD from Cambridge University. PPJS there are victims in psychological abuse and my sympathies are with them. I did study psychology.
Very well said ppjs. Your intelligent, well-written, cpmpassionate words are spot on.
Janet, If you did indeed study psychology in any depth you would never have used used the word “”Weirdo.” How very unkind.
The word was used as a reality check. We can hold any kind of bazarre belief and behaviour but not if it affects other people. To want control over an impressionable young person and, as the papers report, to say that his girlfried was of the ‘wrong seed’, whatever that means. This is not a healthy kind of behaviour.
Civil chat but whoooh! the spelling mistakes!:
survivalists
compassionate
religions
bizarre
lack of proofreading!
used usedI
I can’t help it. I was a teacher.
I love Abingdon.
I’m not perfect either, obviously. Regarding the email just sent by me, I left an extra letter on the second ‘used’ which I typed. Lack of careful proofreading.