What the papers said in the week ending 13 March 2021
Pope Francis has demonstrated every Christian virtue in his leadership and demonstration of determination not to be cowed by violence, but to preach forgiveness Pope Francis visits churches destroyed by Isis in northern Iraq | Pope Francis | The Guardian
He provides a new parable at lunch: ‘Humanity is many things – passionate, curious, rational, altruistic, creative, self-interested. The market is one thing: self-interest. The market is humanity distilled ‘We are seeing a crisis in values’ – an exclusive extract from Mark Carney’s book | Mark Carney | The Guardian
Mortality
We read about the feelings and thoughts of a splendid old lady who determined to end her own life as it had become too painful. Her words are properly respected and her conclusions extrapolated to support a change in the law ‘
- My body is unserviceable and well past its sell-by date’: the last days of Avril Henry | Death and dying | The Guardian
- It’s time to change the law to allow assisted dying | Assisted dying | The Guardian
This is a dangerous path for humanity to follow. Death and despair have a higher profile these months of Covid-19, somehow urging on radical change to break free from the tedium. Careful reading of Avril Henry’s words convey a depth of depression she would not recognise
- Depression can be overcome by a combination of approaches: Understanding depression and developing empathy | Mental health | The Guardian
The challenges presented by the pandemic, in combination with austerity measures are multiple
- Councils are short of funds to provide even basic services which are essential for people of all ages Swingeing cuts on cards as councils in England face funding crisis, watchdog warns | Local government | The Guardian
- English council funding: a crisis that’s been years in the making | Local government | The Guardian
- The provision of healthcare for problems other than Covid-19 have been set back, leaving many people reluctant to ask for help and others finding there is a very long wait for treatment NHS England waiting times reached record high in January | NHS | The Guardian
- Plans for retirement have to be put on hold as the balance of finances has shifted markedly for many older people: ‘I can’t possibly afford it’: how Covid has dashed retirement dreams | Retirement planning | The Guardian
But for some these testing times have opened new ventures
- Madame Tolu an 80 year old resident of a care home in France is helping an English student with his French conversational skills: French senior citizens link up with language students in lockdown (msn.com)
- There are stories of several octogenarians who have taken to computers and the internet for the first time: ‘Computers are marvellous!’: older people embrace internet in lockdown | Older people | The Guardian
Other matters
The menopause is responsible for a range of disabling symptoms, but many women hide them A third of women hide menopause symptoms at work – report | Menopause | The Guardian
Women are not favoured by the pension system: Young women ‘must work 40 years longer than men’ to plug £100k pension gap | Pensions | The Guardian
We continue to read of reluctance within professional sport to take action in the light of evidence that professional contact sports increase the likelihood that individuals will develop dementia and other degenerative disorders of the brain and nervous system Football grapples slowly with brain injury, 19 years on from Jeff Astle’s death | Concussion in sport | The Guardian
New technology means that bowel cancer can be identified using a camera carried through the bowel as a pill Bowel cancer screening capsules the latest in at-home care trend | Bowel cancer | The Guardian
David Jolley
