Lyra McKee RIP

Today is Good Friday and millions of people around the world are remembering a man who was put to death on a cross two thousand years ago.

Christians believe that Jesus was the son of God and that he gave his life for the sins of the world. Whether you accept the Christian Gospel or not, and of this there is not much doubt that he was am exceptional man who was put to death by the authorities in a savage and brutal way because he refused to abandon the religious mission which was his purpose in life.

Sadly on this day when we remember the death of Jesus we learn of the murder of another innocent person, a journalist who was shot deal last night in what the police believe to have been a terrorist incident while reporting on riots in Londonderry.

Lyra McKee, killed last night at the age of 29, was described as a gifted investigative reporter with “courage, style and integrity” and a “kind, gentle, witty and stubborn soul”.

In an extreme irony, if the police statement that they suspect the "New IRA" of responsibility is correct, Lyra McKee was murdered during Holy Week by a group which claims to represent a community often characterised by faith in the church founded by Peter, a disciple of Jesus. But I am quite certain that Jesus and St Peter would be the first to tell them to put aside their weapons.

Tributes to Lyra McKee included this one from the Prime Minister. Theresa May:

"The death of Lyra McKee in last night's suspected terrorist incident in Londonderry is shocking and truly senseless. My deepest condolences go to her family, friends and colleagues. She was a journalist who died doing her job with great courage."

Rest in Peace

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nick Herbert on his visit to flood hit areas of Cumbria

Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
Read more

Quotes of the day 19th August 2020

Image
"Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise."  ( Cato the Elder , who lived 234 BC - 149 BC, quoted in "Lives" by Plutarch.) There is a similar saying by Germany's Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck: Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have put the same saying in a more humorous form: "Wise men profit by the mistakes of others, while fools will not learn even from their own blunders." See also this thread on the "Quote Investigator" website . Let us all be wise and learn from the events of the last few days.
Read more

Quote of the day 24th July 2020

I was moved to put the passage below forward as a quote today when I saw a horrible post on twitter from someone writing that it was "excellent" that someone who took a different view from her about Brexit had died. I won't write which way round it was so that all the Remain supporters can assume the post was from a Brexit fanatic welcoming the death of a remainer and all the Leavers can assume it was a Remainiac welcoming one less Brexiteer. There's been plenty of nasty stuff on both sides but if you catch anyone of your own viewpoint  posting something like that who might listen to you, please do call them out on it - and point out that they're giving everyone on your side of the argument a bad name. Anyway, here's the quote from John Donne.
Read more