I wonder if you saw Emma Raducanu win the American Open tennis championship. This amazing teenager is the first tennis player to have begun a grand slam as a qualifier and left; the champion. Meanwhile in Afghanistan the Taliban have banned women taking part in sport because it is “not necessary,” and Texas have legislated against abortions in the state after 6 weeks of pregnancy; a time when most women do not even know they are pregnant.
A beloved friend of mine, a Christian and a psychotherapist was very fond of quoting St Iranaeus, a Greek who became a bishop in France and is known for his contributions to theology. “The Glory of God is the human person fully alive.” My friend who had once sought ordination found his life’s work, not in the priesthood but in helping people in distress becoming fully alive.
No one who saw Emma play last week or saw her beautiful smile on the front of all the Sunday papers, could deny that she was fully alive. I once worked with a child who had been born as a result of rape, in a war-torn country. The rapist had also murdered the child’s grandmother in front of her daughter. I hope I am wrong when I predict that the mother and child are unlikely to be ever fully alive.
Banning half of the population from the chance to become fully alive through, sport, education or work; or preventing deep wounds from becoming running sores, is not just a crime against humanity it is a blasphemy.
Wendy Quill
