Queen Elizabeth II is attempting to do something unusual: be responsive to changing situations and crises. Historically, she’s been terrible at responding to anything unexpected, anything which has not been mapped out and planned for 30 years. I’m not saying she (or any royal) has to go whichever way the wind blows. Instead of looking like a leader who has taken the pandemic seriously from the beginning, she has seemed more like an old lady too stuck in her ways who reacted late to an already unfolding crisis. All of this to say, I still didn’t find her corona speech all that moving or notable, but other people did and so it’s fine. But! QEII decided to make a second historical move during the corona-lockdown: she recorded a special message for Easter. Here you go:
The Queen speaks of light overcoming darkness, and the hope that Easter symbolises, in a special message recorded to mark the Easter weekend. pic.twitter.com/fTFCOSVBtT
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 11, 2020
Honestly, I enjoyed this recording more than her previous speech. This was a moment where we got to see the Queen as the head of the Church of England, and the sovereign of a religiously diverse country and commonwealth. Plus, I just like that she’s talking about the history and religion. It’s like a really nice Sunday school lesson or something. She should do more of this. Or she should have done it all along!
Speaking of corona, religious leaders and Easter Sunday, Pope Francis did conduct Easter Mass yesterday in St. Peter’s Basilica. They just didn’t allow anyone other than the Pope and a handful of attendants into the Basilica. The Vatican shut down for visitors weeks ago and they’ve been livestreaming mass as often as possible. The Pope also issued a statement about Easter in isolation, saying:
“This is an Easter of solitude lived amid the sorrow and hardship that the pandemic is causing, from physical suffering to economic difficulties,” and said his thoughts were with those directly affected by the virus: doctors and nurses, the sick, those who had died and family members in mourning. Addressing “a world already faced with epochal challenges and now oppressed by a pandemic severely testing our whole human family,” Francis spoke of “the contagion of hope.” God is with us, he said, “firmly reassuring us: Do not be afraid, I have risen and I am with you still.”
Acknowledging the concerns of many people who face an uncertain economic future and fears surrounding unemployment, he called on political leaders “to work actively for the common good, to provide the means and resources needed to enable everyone to lead a dignified life and, when circumstances allow, to assist them in resuming their normal daily activities.”
“This is not a time for indifference,” Francis said, “because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic.”
I’m including the video below – it’s incredibly stark to see the Basilica so empty, and to see him preaching to no one (in the immediate space). What’s better for the Christian faithful, to stay home and livestream an Easter service or mass, or to try one of those drive-through or drive-in churches?
"Indifference, self-centredness, division and forgetfulness are not words we want to hear at this time"
Pope Francis calls for global solidarity in Easter Sunday Mass, held behind closed doorshttps://t.co/JJOaH361As pic.twitter.com/ZgzZr1RwO8
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 12, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
The Church and the BRF are both ancient institutions that put the survival of that institution above everything else. There might be decent members that pop up once in a while but that doesn’t change the damage they both do to their own members and to the world at large.
Both messages were lovely as far as they went, but it isn’t enough right now. I agree Aang —- Not to mention they are both incredibly wealthy and yet give very little in to any charitable cause. The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest organizations in the world and yet the money is horded and hidden even with financial investigations galore. It galls me to hear the pope tell others they must dig deep. He would have made a bigger impact if he’d have said that he had authorized the release of even a $100,000,000 million out of the billions in vaults to help. Queen Elizabeth, even half that. Oh, but wait, that would be acknowledging their extreme wealth openly and that —-as we all know —- is a no no to them.
Stay home if you can, the more you drive the more it clogs up roads for necessary journeys, the more you have to buy fuel which may lead to being in proximety with others and the more risk here is in your car breaking down or getting into an accident which will again bring you into procimety to others.
I live-streamed an Easter service this weekend and the archbishop said something interesting: “We are called to fast from the body of Christ (I.e., taking and being in communion) for the sake of the Body of Christ (I.e., the health of the people of God).” This makes it easy enough to stay home if one thinks about the current situation this way, whether it’s going to church or going out and about more than is absolutely necessary.
I’m sorry but the Catholic Church and pope just celebrated Cardinal Pell getting off on a technicality (last week) and I don’t think Australia will forgive them for that any time soon. I have no appreciation for pedophile apologists.
Exactly. Boohoo, he is preaching to an empty church. Let’s hope many of those who are not there today will not ever return to that den of crooks and thieves.
You can include the Queen amongst those pedophile apologists too.
When I see her now I think about the massive (rarely seen) smile on her face while driving to church with her snake rapist son.
Exactly, and it wasn’t even a technicality, it was a straight-up miscarriage of justice. You can’t just overrule juries’ decisions because you don’t agree with the decision they made. It’s a fundamental part of the jury system that the jury’s decision is meant to be final. It’s only if new evidence comes up that wasn’t presented to them etc that it should go to a retrial, or if there was an error by the judge etc. Otherwise, the committal hearing and the jury selection process is meant to take care of the question of whether it’s reasonable for the jury to make the decision they make. Last week’s ruling was a dangerous precedent.
Wonder if the new hire from the Sussexes wrote that speech for the Queen, asking for a friend 🤨.
Cry me a river, Pope. Throw some of the insane wealth you’re sitting on (and the Catholic Church is sitting on) at the development of a vaccine. Turn over the pedophiles the Church protects to secular authorities. Change your outdated and actively harmful stances on women’s issues. And maybe then you’ll have some moral authority.
So with Harry and Meghan gone off of public funds, the money that would be used to support them now is being pocketed by the Queen, right? Basically the rest of the royal family has gotten two people worth of dole richer. Why don’t the people demand that extra money go towards the hospitals instead, at the very least.
Okay. The sentiments are lovely but coming from two filthy rich pedophile apologists, I can’t take it seriously. The best part was the Pope saying that the world’s richer countries should cancel the developing counties’s debt. I am ALL FOR IT but man, coming from the world’s largest hoarder of wealth? Shut up.
I’m not very impressed by either the Queen or the Popes messages. With their extreme wealth they are insulated from the suffering that normal people must face. Without real action their words are empty platitudes.
Also I think these drive-through services or a bad idea. Even if everyone has the best of intentions, it is all too easy to slip up and step out of the car, roll down the window etc. It only takes one mistake to spread the infection. Not to mention the more people are on the roads means more chances for accidents or breakdowns. We all have to do our part no matter how small.