Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Letter from Rome: Alfie’s political lessons
Letter from Rome: Alfie’s political lessons
Mar 16, 2025 4:19 PM

Readers in Italy, the UK and the US are probably already familiar with the case ofAlfie Evans, the 23-month-old baby boy suffering from an undiagnosed degenerative neurological condition. I’m writing on April 30, two days after Alfie died and one week after he was taken off life support at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where he had been a patient since December 2016.

The case made international headlines because it pitted Alfie’s young parents, who wanted to continue treatment, against doctors, lawyers and judges who decided further treatment was not in the baby’s “best interests.” It becamea cause for pro-life activists. The drama escalated with the involvement ofPope Francis and the Italian governmentwhen the latter offered Alfie citizenship so he could be transferred and treated at the Vatican-run Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome. ThePolish governmentalso got involved. In the end, however, the British courts refused to let Alfie leave Alder Hey.

As with any infant, Alfie’s death is heartbreaking, especially for his parents who did all they could to prolong his young life. It almost seems disrespectful to draw political lessons from such a deeply personal tragedy. Yet along withCharlie Gard, Alfie has e a hero to the grassroots pro-life movement and the wider populist political struggle going on in Britain, Europe and the United States. We’d have to be intentionally blind not to see similar sentiments among voters who chose Brexit and Trump. And we shouldn’t let an exaggerated sense of propriety prevent us from learning something useful.

Alfie’s treatment became a public issue solely because the British courts sided with the hospital against the rights of the parents. Would it have been so difficult to let them seek treatment in Rome? It is impossible to imagine a clearer-cut struggle between a vulnerable, innocent underdog against elites whose scientific rationalism presumes to know what is better for him than his loving parents do.

Who could possibly root against Alfie? Only those who see a life “unworthy of life” because they think suffering and disability are the greatest evils. Godspeed and good luck to anyone who may not be perfectly healthy in Britain: life and death will now be apportioned according to the same perverse sense passion that kills in the name of kindness.

This could only happen in a pletely divorced from Christian ethics, which pretty much describes Britain today. TheCatholic Archbishop of Liverpooland theCatholic Bishops Conference of England and Walessupported the hospital over Alfie’s parents. Unlike their predecessors, the bishops have no Henry VIII to fear, just elite opinion. Or perhaps their love of the National Health Service is greater than their love of justice.

Alfie’s was a political, not a religious, issue however. The governments of Italy and Poland did the right thing, and it is tempting to see them engaged in some kind of papist alliance against the perfidious Anglo-Saxons, but there’s more to it than that. Within the Church, Pope mon touch and populist instincts are far superior to those of the English bishops. Francis certainly deserves much credit for praying, meeting Alfie’s father in person and tweeting his support, but there are plenty of other issues in which the pope’s influence is not so great, immigration being the most obvious one. Old Anglican and Protestant fears to the contrary,political Catholicismis a spent force.

Alfie’s cause has more to do with with the bureaucratization of the European project and the large role played by the agencies like the National Health Service, the European Commission and others that make up theAdministrative State. The European Union is increasingly unpopular inItalyandEurope in generalbecause it is seen as unaccountable and meddling far too much in the daily lives of citizens. Thisde-politicized Europeis managed (or “nudged”) by administrative elites rather than governed democratically.

It wasn’t always so. Italy is one of the founding members of the EU and had been generally pro-Europe until the immigration crisis exposed the sham foundations of European unity and solidarity. munist Poland was eager to join the West but now that it has elected a right-wing government, it is second only to Hungary as Europe’s pariah. Europeans see with their own eyes that the European Commission e to rule their lives with little to no regard for what the European Parliament says, let alone what national governments do on behalf of their own people.

That’s because the Administrative State is a jealous god. It tolerates other sources of authority only insofar as they play by its rules. Religious leaders, elected representatives and parents must give way when es to the provision of things like welfare, health care, environmental protection and education. (As you may have guessed, the Administrative State hasPrussian origins.) What is intolerable are people like Alfie’s parents deciding what is in the best interest of their child; the Administrative State demands doctors, hospital administrators/ethicists and, finally, the courts to manage the affairs of its subjects.

Why can’t these supposed experts simply exercise mon sense and respect parental rights, saving their energy for actual cases of child abuse and neglect? As innocuous as the concept sounds, “children’s rights” have been used to reduce the authority of parents and teachers previously responsible for the formation of the young. (See the 1982Public Interestpiece “Children’s rights, adult confusions” for background.) It is no accident thatHillary Clintonand many other progressive feminists have been deeply involved in the children’s rights movement. It is a noble-sounding way to increase the power of the State over traditional forms of authority, especially those governed by men: the Catholic Church, businesses and voluntary civic associations, and the traditional one-man-one-woman family. Patriarchy is the ultimate enemy to be defeated.

Impatient with the messiness of democratic procedures that rely on rational persuasion promises between parties, the Administrative State uses executive agencies and the courts to expand rights in the name of equality because…who is against equality?Abortionhas gone from being a right to privacy to a public good. TheHuman Rights Campaignis concerned solely with protecting sexual deviance. The 2012 Obama campaign ad “The Life of Julia” portrayed a female pletely independent of men but utterly dependent on the State to provide education, career opportunities, health care, day care for children and finally retirement for women; a pain-less State-sanctioned death cannot be far behind. Not coincidently, the European Court of Human Rights refused to hear the appeal made on behalf of Alfie’s parents against the British courts. All of the above is proof that there’s clearly aproblemwith how we think about human rights in relation to older concepts such as the natural law.

Although there’s no way he or his parents could have known it, Alfie became the messenger of some important political lessons in his short life on earth. The culture of life has much more popular support in Europe than previously thought. European administrative elites are increasingly divorced from the lives of ordinary people. And any potential European renewal will have to respect and balance the political claims of the few and the many, along with those of religion and the family, just as wiser elites such asPlato,AristotleandThomas Morecould have taught us.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Where Opportunity and Obligation Meet
Over at Fare Forward, Cole Carnesecca provides some great insights into how we should think about calling, offering some similar sentiments to those expressed in my recent post on family and vocation. “Whatever else you may think you are called to,” Carnesecca writes, “if you have a spouse and children, you are called to your family.” Focusing on the troubled marriages of Methodism founder John Wesley and Chinese evangelist John Sung, Carnesecca explains how a misaligned and over-spiritualized concept of...
The Most Important Economic Chart in Western Civilization
James Pethokoukis of AEI says that this is the most important economic chart in Western civilization. pletely agree. The concept is so important that no student should receive a passing grade in any economics class—whether in high school or college—unless they can explain why economic growth matters (ideally, every educated Christian would be able to do so too since it has theological implications). Yet, sadly, few Americans recognize its importance despite the fact, as Pethokoukis notes, that in real terms,...
Orthodox Bishops Kidnapped By Terrorists
Two Syrian Orthodox bishops have been abducted by terrorists in a suburb of Aleppo in Syria as they were returning from Antioch (Antakya, Turkey). While both clergymen are believed to be alive, their driver was killed during the attack: Syriac Orthodox bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo Paul, who also happens to be the brother of Patriarch John of Antioch and All The East were abducted en route to Aleppo from a town on the Turkish border...
Eulogies to Margaret Thatcher at the Pub (and the Cathedral)
The Pavilion End pub with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background Last week followingActon’s seminar on morality, virtue, and Catholic social teaching with a group of financiers, bankers, and other business executives in London, I was invited to attend a private eulogy service organized by the Freedom Association for the late Lady Margaret Thatcher. The eulogy service was organized in “proper British fashion” while sharing memories and more over ales at a pub—The Pavilion End—located right behind St. Paul’s Cathedral...
Neither Worshipping Nor Demonizing Capitalism
Questions about poverty and social teaching are on the forefront of Pope Francis’ mind, as he’s made convincingly clear in his young papacy. This calls for cogent thinking on the topic, according to Fr. John Flynn, LC in “Francis and Catholic Social Teaching: Debates About Economy, Equality and Poverty Sure to Continue.” Flynn cites Jerry Z. Muller, professor of History at the Catholic University of America, who gives credit to the astonishing “leap in human progress” that capitalism has brought...
Fighting Poverty with Toy Blocks and Economic Growth
AEI’s Values and Capitalism just released a new book titled, Economic Growth: Unleashing the Potential for Human Flourishing. In support of the book, they’ve produced a video highlighting the great work of Tegu Toys, a wooden block manufacturer based in Honduras. In a country where 64% of people live below the poverty line, Tegu is creating economic growth and, in the process, is seeing the lives of its employees transformed. Chris Haughey, Tegu co-founder, started pany in Honduras with a...
ICCR Shareholders vs. World Hunger
Finding solutions for feeding the world’s poorest is about as non-controversial a mission as you could imagine for someone pursuing a religious vocation. Yet, the investors belonging to the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility put politicized science ahead of that mission in their opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The ICCR’s approach to GMOs leans more toward anti-business political activism than any concern for producing plentiful crops that are resilient against pests, diseases and extreme weather events such as drought...
Greek and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchates on Kidnapped Bishops
The following official joint statement has been released by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East: On Monday the 22.04.2013, we were surprised by the news that our brothers Bishop Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo and Alexandretta and Bishop John (Ibrahim) Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo, have been kidnapped on their way back to Aleppo after plishing a humanitarian mission. We deeply regret what happened as we...
Christian Scholarship and the Crisis of the University
This past weekend, I had the privilege to attend and present a paper at the 2013 Kuyper Center for Public Theology conference at Princeton Seminary. The conference was on the subject of “Church and Academy” and focused not only on the relationship between the institutions of the Church and the university, but also on questions such as whether theology still has a place in the academy and what place that might be. The discussion raised a number of important questions...
Will New Internet Sales Tax Laws Create Market Fairness?
It’s called the “Marketplace Fairness Act,” but how fair is it and who does it really benefit? The legislation, which is expected to pass the Senate, is heralded by supporters as instituting market equity to the brick and mortar retailers. Supporters also proclaim it will help to alleviate state budget shortfalls. The Marketplace Fairness Act gives new authority to states to directly collect sales taxes from online retailers. Jia Lynn Lang at The Washington Post explains: Since before the dawn...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved