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Tag Archives: Book of Genesis
The Exodus Story: History or Myth?
A biblical scholar reviews the historical claims of the biblical book of Exodus.
By Yair Hoffman
The Book of Genesis ends with the story of Jacob going down to Egypt with his family. The first chapter of Exodus tells how the 70 members of Jacob's s clan evolved into a large people, cruelly enslaved by the kings of Egypt. The enslavement is presented in the Bible as a crucible that forged the nation of Israel. Oppressed for several centuries, the Hebrews suffered until Moses, of the tribe of Levi, brought up in Pharaoh's household, led them to freedom in the name of God, an omnipotent deity unknown to the Hebrews prior to their liberation.
The Exodus Narrative
Moses empfängt die Gesetzestafeln – Karolingischer Buchmaler
The story of the Exodus is related in a few dramatic chapters: 600,000 men left Egypt on a long trek to freedom. God punished their enemies (the ten plagues of Egypt), drowned Pharaoh's army with its chariots and cavalry in the Red Sea, and brought them to Mount Sinai where they witnessed the revelation and received the Decalogue – God's commandments to his people.
The First Commandment is the essence of Jewish monotheism:
"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus, 20:2‑3).
By the time they reached the frontiers of Canaan after forty years in the desert, the Israelites had become a strong, united nation, and were ready to conquer the Promised Land.
Is Exodus History?
The historical validity of this narrative is controversial. Some scholars stress the lack of Egyptian evidence testifying to the enslavement of the Israelites, pointing out that very little Egyptian influence is discernible in biblical literature and in ancient Hebrew culture. Other scholars, however, claim that it is highly improbable that a nation would choose to invent for itself a history of slavery as an explanation of its origins. If such a tradition exists, it must reflect an historical truth.
Were the Israelites Slaves?
Statue of Akhenaten in the early Amarna style.
There is no doubt that slavery played a major role in the structure of the Egyptian state. It is also true that some form of single‑god worship was introduced into Egypt by Akenaton in the middle of the fourteenth century B.C.E., and this may have been a source for Jewish monotheism. Finally, the reign of Ramses II (1290-1212 B.C.E.), known for its costly wars and vast building enterprises, may well have been the era of cruel oppression described in Exodus.
But the only contemporary Egyptian source which actually mentions Israel is the stela (pillar with inscription) of King Merneptah from the fifth year of his reign (1207 B.C.E.), recording among his many victories:
"Carved off is Ashkelon, seized upon in Gezer…Israel is laid waste, his seed no more."
This inscription implies that an entity named Israel existed in Canaan at the time, yet it is difficult to determine precisely what it was. One thing, however, may be regarded as certain: if the Israelites indeed emerged out of Egypt, their migration took place before the end of the 13th century B.C.E.
Explaining the Passover Miracles
This single fact, however, does not resolve the enigma. Obviously, the orthodox tradition accepts the biblical account literally, despite all the miracles it describes. There are scholars who seek to explain the miraculous events in rational and natural terms. They refer to ancient disasters which befell Egypt – floods, drought, slave rebellions, and invasions. Could these not be the ten plagues of Egypt? And the drowning of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea – can it not be explained by the ebb and flow of the marshes between the Nile and the Sinai Desert?
Problems and Contradictions in Exodus
Ipuwer Papyrus (officially Papyrus Leiden I 344 recto) – often put forward in popular literature as confirmation of the Biblical account, most notably because of its statement that "the river is blood" and its frequent references to servants running away, but these arguments ignore the many points on which Ipuwer contradicts Exodus, such as the fact that its Asiatics are arriving in Egypt rather than leaving, and the likelihood that the "river is blood" phrase may refer to the red sediment colouring the Nile during disastrous floods, or may simply be a poetic image of turmoil.
Other scholars, however, totally reject the historical validity of Exodus. The story of Ipu‑wer, they say, describes the anarchy in Egypt at the end of the third millennium B.C.E. and has no bearing on the biblical story; and 600,000 men ("not counting dependents") means that approximately two million Hebrews left Egypt– is it possible that such a vast emigration left no trace in Egyptian sources? The biblical narrative, they point out, is full contradictions concerning the topography and the sequence of events – a feature typical of folktales, not of historical texts.
Intermediate Theories about Exodus
Between the two opposing views there are several intermediary theories. One hypothesis is that the Israelites left Egypt in two waves, and that by the time the second wave departed – in the middle of the thirteenth century – the first group had already settled in the land of Canaan, mostly around the town of Shechem in Samaria. Another possibility is that there was no organized mass emigration, but rather a constant flow of thousands of people from different Semitic tribes who left Egypt, roamed the desert, slowly infiltrating the land of Canaan where they eventually formed a single nation.
from A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People edited by Eli Barnavi and published by Schocken Books.
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Filed under History, Religious affairs
Tagged as 13° Century BCE, 14° Century BCE, 1° commandment, Akenaton or Akhenaten (Echnaton or Ikhnaton), Ancient Egypt, Book of Exodus, Book of Genesis, Decalogue (10 words), Egyptian state, Enslavement, Exodus Narrative, Ipu‑wer (Egyptian sage), Israelites, Jacob's s clan, Jewish monotheism, Land of Canaan, Merneptah (king of Egypt), Moses, Nation of Israel, Passover Miracles, Plagues of Egypt, Promised Land, Ramses II, Slavery, Stela of King Merneptah, Story of Jacob, Yair Hoffman
Fake News Goes Back to the Garden of Eden says Pope Francis I
On this day of "News and communication" we can't escape to ponder on the last two years where we got bombarded with continuous streams of fake news and attacks on people and organisations.
All people who write on the internet should be aware of their social function and be conscious of their responsibility and impact on others. The last few months social media also showed its bad and dangerous side in being a weapon of opponents and misleader of the people. When you look at the fake news that could be spread in one week it should really alarm us.
Today the Roman Catholic Church Father Francis I looked at what is going on in this world and said
Made in the image and likeness of our Creator, we are able to express and share all that is true, good, and beautiful. We are able to describe our own experiences and the world around us, and thus to create historical memory and the understanding of events.
He is also aware and tells about what happened very early in the history of man, what too many have forgotten. We should remember that there was the inner thought of the mannin or first woman who doubted the sincerity and honesty of her Creator. Pope Francis has denounced fake news as evil, comparing it to the snake in the Garden of Eden, and urged journalists to make it their mission to search for the truth.
In his annual social communications message, Francis said fake news played on stereotypes and prejudices, and praised efforts to make social media users aware of false reports. Question hereby can bye how we ourselves want to see the world around us and how we want to be honest to others. Lots of our way of reaction against others has to do with our background, attitude of life and our pride.
The pope opened his sermon today with a warning.
But when we yield to our own pride and selfishness, we can also distort the way we use our ability to communicate. This can be seen from the earliest times, in the biblical stories of Cain and Abel and the Tower of Babel (cf. Gen 4:4-16; 11:1-9). The capacity to twist the truth is symptomatic of our condition, both as individuals and communities. On the other hand, when we are faithful to God's plan, communication becomes an effective expression of our responsible search for truth and our pursuit of goodness.
In 1972 Pope Paul VI already for the World Communications Day had its theme: "Social Communications at the Service of Truth". The present pope want also to contribute to our shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth. for this pope it is not the first time he has scolded those who spread false news reports. He called it a "very serious sin" that not only hurts those who have been slandered but also hurts journalism itself.
We have come into a time when it looks like a sport or competition to bring the most deceiving and manipulating messages to the reader. Clearly the spreading of fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests, and is as such used.
The effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible. Secondly, this false but believable news is "captious", inasmuch as it grasps people's attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger and frustration. The ability to spread such fake news often relies on a manipulative use of the social networks and the way they function. Untrue stories can spread so quickly that even authoritative denials fail to contain the damage.
In Christendom we can see that lots of people are so caught by the arrangement between the clergy and the Roman emperor Constantine. Their agreement to equal the Roman gods with the Christian figures (or better the other way around) made that the Trinity was born and fostered.
The difficulty of unmasking and eliminating fake news is due also to the fact that many people interact in homogeneous digital environments impervious to differing perspectives and opinions. Disinformation thus thrives on the absence of healthy confrontation with other sources of information that could effectively challenge prejudices and generate constructive dialogue; instead, it risks turning people into unwilling accomplices in spreading biased and baseless ideas. The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict. Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth.
In Facebook Groups lots of people go very hard against people who have an other opinion than they or than mainstream groups. Many want others to believe as them and when they do not do that they come to abuse them and call them names.
It is not an easy task to get people to see what really happened and to get rid of the false information Awful is it when such false news is to blacken people or organisations. Since disinformation is often based on deliberately evasive and subtly misleading rhetoric and at times the use of sophisticated psychological mechanisms, plus when it gets multiplied or shared via social media it starts running its own life and often turns up a few years later when people have forgotten about the matter and do not recollect that it was classified as fake news.
The Pope finds it good that
praiseworthy efforts are being made to create educational programmes aimed at helping people to interpret and assess information provided by the media, and teaching them to take an active part in unmasking falsehoods, rather than unwittingly contributing to the spread of disinformation. Praiseworthy too are those institutional and legal initiatives aimed at developing regulations for curbing the phenomenon, to say nothing of the work being done by tech and media companies in coming up with new criteria for verifying the personal identities concealed behind millions of digital profiles.
Yet preventing and identifying the way disinformation works also calls for a profound and careful process of discernment. We need to unmask what could be called the "snake-tactics" used by those who disguise themselves in order to strike at any time and place. This was the strategy employed by the "crafty serpent" in the Book of Genesis, who, at the dawn of humanity, created the first fake news (cf. Gen 3:1-15), which began the tragic history of human sin, beginning with the first fratricide (cf. Gen 4) and issuing in the countless other evils committed against God, neighbour, society and creation. The strategy of this skilled "Father of Lies" (Jn 8:44) is precisely mimicry, that sly and dangerous form of seduction that worms its way into the heart with false and alluring arguments.
The world is taken by its greed. So many people do want it all for themselves. Politicians do whatever they can to degrade their opponents and to let themselves look the better one.
What is at stake is our greed. Fake news often goes viral, spreading so fast that it is hard to stop, not because of the sense of sharing that inspires the social media, but because it appeals to the insatiable greed so easily aroused in human beings. The economic and manipulative aims that feed disinformation are rooted in a thirst for power, a desire to possess and enjoy, which ultimately makes us victims of something much more tragic: the deceptive power of evil that moves from one lie to another in order to rob us of our interior freedom. That is why education for truth means teaching people how to discern, evaluate and understand our deepest desires and inclinations, lest we lose sight of what is good and yield to every temptation.
At Facebook Groups we often find people, claiming to be Christian, using words unworthy for a lover of God and for a follower of Christ, calling those who are not in line with their thinking all sorts of names. By bringing all sorts of false 'news' they also try to bring others in discredit. In many of those groups we can see a constant contamination by deceptive language which can end up darkening our interior life.
Dostoevsky's observation is illuminating:
"People who lie to themselves and listen to their own lie come to such a pass that they cannot distinguish the truth within them, or around them, and so lose all respect for themselves and for others. And having no respect, they cease to love, and in order to occupy and distract themselves without love they give way to passions and to coarse pleasures, and sink to bestiality in their vices, all from continual lying to others and to themselves." (The Brothers Karamazov, II, 2).
Many people are thrown form one side to the other and become so confused, not able to see what is true , half-true and what is false. Lots of false messages look so engrossing that one can not resit the excitement and love to share it on social media which makes the ball rolling.
So how do we defend ourselves?
The most radical antidote to the virus of falsehood is purification by the truth.
In Christianity, truth is not just a conceptual reality that regards how we judge things, defining them as true or false. The truth is not just bringing to light things that are concealed, "revealing reality", as the ancient Greek term aletheia (from a-lethès, "not hidden") might lead us to believe. Truth involves our whole life. In the Bible, it carries with it the sense of support, solidity, and trust, as implied by the root 'aman, the source of our liturgical expression Amen.
Those who call themselves Christian should have the aim in them to purify their body and spirit and to share the love of Christ with others, not wanting to hurt them by false sayings or awful words. they should work on their character, trying to become like Christ. By their daily meditations and reading of the Word of God they should discover and rediscover the truth when they experience it within themselves in the loyalty and trustworthiness of the One who loves them.
every person should know that the truth will set them free (Jn 8:32).
Freedom from falsehood and the search for relationship: these two ingredients cannot be lacking if our words and gestures are to be true, authentic, and trustworthy. To discern the truth, we need to discern everything that encourages communion and promotes goodness from whatever instead tends to isolate, divide, and oppose. Truth, therefore, is not really grasped when it is imposed from without as something impersonal, but only when it flows from free relationships between persons, from listening to one another. Nor can we ever stop seeking the truth, because falsehood can always creep in, even when we state things that are true. An impeccable argument can indeed rest on undeniable facts, but if it is used to hurt another and to discredit that person in the eyes of others, however correct it may appear, it is not truthful. We can recognize the truth of statements from their fruits: whether they provoke quarrels, foment division, encourage resignation; or, on the other hand, they promote informed and mature reflection leading to constructive dialogue and fruitful results.
When looking at news channels, social media (tweets and Facebook messages) we always should use our common sense and examine the truth as well as the value of the message.
The best antidotes to falsehoods are not strategies, but people: people who are not greedy but ready to listen, people who make the effort to engage in sincere dialogue so that the truth can emerge; people who are attracted by goodness and take responsibility for how they use language. If responsibility is the answer to the spread of fake news, then a weighty responsibility rests on the shoulders of those whose job is to provide information, namely, journalists, the protectorsof news. In today's world, theirs is, in every sense, not just a job; it is a mission. Amid feeding frenzies and the mad rush for a scoop, they must remember that the heart of information is not the speed with which it is reported or its audience impact, but persons. Informing others means forming others; it means being in touch with people's lives. That is why ensuring the accuracy of sources and protecting communication are real means of promoting goodness, generating trust, and opening the way to communion and peace.
The pontiff wants to invite everyone to promote a journalism of peace. He said
By that, I do not mean the saccharine kind of journalism that refuses to acknowledge the existence of serious problems or smacks of sentimentalism. On the contrary, I mean a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those – and they are the majority in our world – who have no voice. A journalism less concentrated on breaking news than on exploring the underlying causes of conflicts, in order to promote deeper understanding and contribute to their resolution by setting in place virtuous processes. A journalism committed to pointing out alternatives to the escalation of shouting matches and verbal violence.
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Filed under Crimes & Atrocities, Educational affairs, Headlines - News, History, Lifestyle, Political affairs, Religious affairs, Social affairs, World affairs
Tagged as 1972, Book of Genesis, Communication, Disinformation, Facebook Groups, Fake News, False reports, Falsehoods, Father of Lies, Forming others, Garden of Eden, Human responsibility, Informing others, Interior freedom, Internet, Journalism, Journalists, Mission, Moral responsibility, Personal responsibility, Pope Francis I, Pope Paul VI, Power of evil, Pride, Purification by the truth, Pursuit of goodness, Responsibility, Selfishness, Sincere dialogue, Snake-tactics, Social communications, Social media, Social networks, Thirst for power, to Communicate, to Communicate in public, to Seek truth, Truth, Twisting the truth, Virus of falsehood, World Communications Day
Seeds of promise
I work as a professional gardener and I am surrounded by seeds! They come in the amazing shapes and sizes and perform little miracles on the way. If it were not for seeds our world would not function we would not be able to survive!
I often wonder where the first seeds were and what they were. The only way I can consider it is that in Genesis we are told
'And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind.'
So the seed was already in the plant. Well, that makes sense; they were there to start with packed with the individual DNA required to produce the plant and fruit.
Every year I go online or wander around garden centres to look and plan different seeds to order so I can grow for the gardens I look after. There is a fantastic variety out there, too many to comprehend. For me it is like being a child in a toy shop!
When they arrive I look at the instructions to see what the requirements of the seeds are. Some will germinate quite easily in a tray of compost at the right time of year. Others need 'stratifying' by placing in a refrigerator or freezer to convince the seed it has been through a winter period. Some actually need to be passed through the insides of a certain rare animal before the seed will germinate and then the plant has to be pollinated by an illusive moth to produce flowers and, in turn, seeds! I don't order those! Check out the Brazil nut story.
The Judean Date Palm at Kibbutz Ketura, nicknamed Methuselah.
Some of the seeds I order are not successful and I abandon them only to find sometime later they germinate after being thrown on the compost heap. Some seeds are very old and then germinate given the right conditions. The oldest mature seed that has grown into a viable plant was a Judean date palm seed about 2,000 years old, recovered from excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada in Israel. It is amazing that a seed can lay dormant for so long.
Impatiens scapiflora at Silent Valley National Park, South India
An exploding pod of Cardamine impatiens, a common weed in Europe and America. This manner of dissemination is called auto-dissemination or autochory.
Seeds are also fun and exciting when they use different methods to spread their seed. Many years ago when my children were young we walked through a park and in the flower beds were some Impatiens flowers, ripe with seed pods on them. I showed the boys how if you brushed your finger along them they would do a remarkable thing.
They would fire a spring loaded mechanism and with a pop fire the seeds into the air. Each pod has a segment that weakens as it ripens ready for the time of explosion. I can remember the children having fun watching this happen.
Pop-fired impatiens seeds
Some seeds are really tiny and almost like dust, others huge like coconut pods that float in the sea ready to find land to sprout when washed ashore.
Of course seeds don't often have much success just being on their own. They need other elements to succeed such as animals brushing against them when they will attach themselves sometimes with hooks such as the burr. There is an interesting story behind the burr:
The hook and loop system Velcro, a portmanteau of the French words velours ("velvet"), and crochet ("hook"), the invention for which de Mestral is famous
The inventor of Velcro, more generically known as a "hook and loop fastener" or "touch fastener" (as "Velcro" is technically just a brand of that product), was Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral. After going out on a hunting trip with his dog in the Swiss Alps, his trouser legs and his dog's hair were covered in burrs from the burdock plant. As an engineer, he naturally began to wonder how exactly the seeds stuck so effectively. He examined the burrs under a microscope and discovered that they had very tiny hooks which allowed the seeds to catch on to things like fabrics, which have tiny loops.
Wow, it made him a wealthy man and produced a very useful product.
Also of course many seeds become plants with flowers which are pollinated by insects (another fascinating story) ready for them to become seeds again.
Without seeds plants and flowers and insects such as bees our whole existence would be in jeopardy. Our food supply depends on the whole cycle of life. There are in existence seed banks to enable us to retain heritage seeds to plant in the future should problems arise with extinction.
A Lite-Trac four-wheeled self-propelled crop sprayer spraying pesticide on a field
God has promised us that "seed time and harvest will never fail" and when you look at seeds and how they reproduce it is highly unlikely but as a human race we may worry about the consequences of using too much pesticides and chemicals on plants. Each year I collect seeds and dry them off ready to store in envelopes with the name clearly written on the outside. They appear to be dead and lifeless but they are waiting for the time to explode into life again on the passing of winter into spring again.
Dandelion seeds (achenes) can be carried long distances by the wind. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Tagged as Book of Genesis, Compost, DNA, Food chain (ecology), Food supply, Garden centres, Georges de Mestral, Germination, Human race, Impatiens or Balsamine, Judean date palm, Life cycle, Pesticides, Plants, Pollination, Seeds, to Germinate (to sprout or grow), Velcro

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home News Covid weekly update - Week 20
Covid weekly update - Week 20
● ANH-Intl Covid-19 information tracker - Week 20
Find related articles, information and videos in our Covid Zone
ANH-Intl Covid-19 information tracker - Week 20
Epidemiological, clinical, and virological characteristics of 465 hospitalized cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from Zhejiang province in China
Author: Lian J
Publication date: 12 May 2020
Journal: Influenza and other respiratory viruses
DOI: 10.1111/irv.12758
Results: Among 465 COVID‐19 patients, median age was 45 years while hypertension, diabetes, and chronic liver disease were the most common comorbidities. History of exposure to the epidemic area was present in 170 (36.56%) and 185 (39.78%) patients were clustered in 77 families. Severe/critical type of COVID‐19 developed in 49 (10.54%) patients. Fever and cough were the most common symptoms while diarrhea/vomiting were reported in 58 (12.47%) patients. Multivariate analysis revealed eight risk factors for severe/critical COVID‐19. Glucocorticoids and antibiotics were administered to 60 (12.90%) and 218(46.88%) patients, respectively. Bioinformatics showed four single amino acid mutations and one amino acid position loss in SARS‐CoV‐2 from Zhejiang province, with more similarity to humans than to viruses.
Conclusions: SARS‐CoV‐2 showed virological mutations and more human transmission in Zhejiang province, indicating considerable epidemiological and clinical changes. Caution in glucocorticoid and antibiotics use is advisable.
Covid-19 patients
UK report on 8250 patients critically ill with COVID-19
Institution: Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC)
Immune mechanisms of pulmonary intravascular coagulopathy in COVID-19 pneumonia
Authors: McGonagle D, PhD et al
Journal: The Lancet Rheumatology
The lung pathology seen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows marked microvascular thrombosis and haemorrhage linked to extensive alveolar and interstitial inflammation that shares features with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). We have termed the lung-restricted vascular immunopathology associated with COVID-19 as diffuse pulmonary intravascular coagulopathy, which in its early stages is distinct from disseminated intravascular coagulation. Increased circulating D-dimer concentrations (reflecting pulmonary vascular bed thrombosis with fibrinolysis) and elevated cardiac enzyme concentrations (reflecting emergent ventricular stress induced by pulmonary hypertension) in the face of normal fibrinogen and platelet levels are key early features of severe pulmonary intravascular coagulopathy related to COVID-19. Extensive immunothrombosis over a wide pulmonary vascular territory without confirmation of COVID-19 viraemia in early disease best explains the adverse impact of male sex, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes on the prognosis of patients with COVID-19. The immune mechanism underlying diffuse alveolar and pulmonary interstitial inflammation in COVID-19 involves a MAS-like state that triggers extensive immunothrombosis, which might unmask subclinical cardiovascular disease and is distinct from the MAS and disseminated intravascular coagulation that is more familiar to rheumatologists.
How Dermatologists Can Learn and Contribute at the Leading Edge of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic
Authors: Lauren M Madigan, MD, Robert G Micheletti, MD and Kanade Shinkai MD, PhD
Publication date: 30 April 2020
Journal: JAMA Dermatology
DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.1438
In this issue of JAMA Dermatology, clinical cases and images of rashes in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are presented.1,2 Although these early observations are not comprehensive of all skin manifestations seen, our intention in publishing them is to help dermatologists recognize emerging patterns of rashes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The reported prevalence of cutaneous signs in association with this pandemic is conflicting; one study reported a rash in only 0.2% of a cohort of Chinese patients,3 whereas the estimated prevalence in a cross-sectional Italian study was 20.4%.4 In the latter study, performed by dermatologists, the cutaneous manifestations were most commonly described as an erythematous rash; however, a range of additional morphologic features were observed, including generalized urticaria and vesicular eruptions. A predilection for the trunk was also noted.4 It may not be possible to determine the exact prevalence of skin findings in infected patients until serologic testing is more widely available, given that some individuals may lack the typical respiratory signs of COVID-19.
Coronavirus in children
An outbreak of severe Kawasaki-like disease at the Italian epicentre of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic: an observational cohort study
Authors: Verdoni L, MD et al
Journal: The Lancet
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31103-X
In the past month we found a 30-fold increased incidence of Kawasaki-like disease. Children diagnosed after the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic began showed evidence of immune response to the virus, were older, had a higher rate of cardiac involvement, and features of MAS. The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic was associated with high incidence of a severe form of Kawasaki disease. A similar outbreak of Kawasaki-like disease is expected in countries involved in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic.
Evidence Supporting a Phased Immuno-physiological Approach to COVID-19 From Prevention Through Recovery
Authors: Yanuck SF, Pizzorno J, Messier H, Fitzgerald KN
Journal: Integrative Medicine Journal
This paper presents an evidence-based strategy for improving clinical outcomes in COVID-19. Recommendations are based on the phases of the disease, because optimal interventions for one phase may not be appropriate for a different phase. The four phases addressed are: Prevention, Infection, Inflammation and Recovery.
Underlying this phased approach is recognition of emerging evidence for two different components of pathophysiology, early infection and late stage severe complications. These two aspects of the disease suggest two different patterns of clinical emphasis that seem on the surface to be not entirely concordant. We describe the application of therapeutic strategies and appropriate tactics that address four main stages of disease progression for COVID-19.
Emerging evidence in COVID-19 suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may both evade the innate immune response and kill macrophages. Delayed innate immune response and a depleted population of macrophages can theoretically result in a blunted antigen presentation, delaying and diminishing activation of the adaptive immune response. Thus, one clinical strategy involves supporting patient innate and adaptive immune responses early in the time course of illness, with the goal of
improving the timeliness, readiness, and robustness of both the innate and adaptive immune responses.
At the other end of the disease pathology spectrum, risk of fatality in COVID-19 is driven by excessive and persistent upregulation of inflammatory mechanisms associated with cytokine storm. Thus, the second clinical strategy is to prevent or mitigate excessive inflammatory response to prevent the cytokine storm associated with high mortality risk.
Clinical support for immune system pathogen clearance mechanisms involves obligate activation of immune response components that are inherently inflammatory. This puts the goals of the first clinical strategy (immune activation) potentially at odds with the goals of the second strategy (mitigation of proinflammatory effects). This creates a need for discernment about the time course of the illness and with that, understanding of which components of an overall strategy to apply at each phase of the time course of the illness.
We review evidence from early observational studies and the existing literature on both outcomes and mechanisms of disease, to inform a phased approach to support the patient at risk for infection, with infection, with escalating inflammation during infection, and at risk of negative sequelae as they move into recovery.
The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality
Authors: Petre Cristian Ilie, Simina Stefanescu and Lee Smith
Journal: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
WHO declared SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic. The present aim was to propose an hypothesis that there is a potential association between mean levels of vitamin D in various countries with cases and mortality caused by COVID-19. The mean levels of vitamin D for 20 European countries and morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 were acquired. Negative correlations between mean levels of vitamin D (average 56 mmol/L, STDEV 10.61) in each country and the number of COVID-19 cases/1 M (mean 295.95, STDEV 298.7, and mortality/1 M (mean 5.96, STDEV 15.13) were observed. Vitamin D levels are severely low in the aging population especially in Spain, Italy and Switzerland. This is also the most vulnerable group of the population in relation to COVID-19. It should be advisable to perform dedicated studies about vitamin D levels in COVID-19 patients with different degrees of disease severity.
Efficacy of glutathione therapy in relieving dyspnea associated with COVID-19 pneumonia: A report of 2 cases
Authors: Richard L Horowitz, Phyllis R Freeman and James Bruzzese
Journal: Respiratory Medicine Case Reports
DOI: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101063
Two patients living in New York City (NYC) with a history of Lyme and tick-borne co-infections experienced a cough and dyspnea and demonstrated radiological findings consistent with novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). A trial of 2 g of PO or IV glutathione was used in both patients and improved their dyspnea within 1 h of use. Repeated use of both 2000 mg of PO and IV glutathione was effective in further relieving respiratory symptoms.
Oral and IV glutathione, glutathione precursors (N-acetyl-cysteine) and alpha lipoic acid may represent a novel treatment approach for blocking NF-κB and addressing "cytokine storm syndrome" and respiratory distress in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.
Nutrient depletion
The Possible Role of Vitamin D in Suppressing Cytokine Storm and Associated Mortality in COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Daneshkhah A et al
Journal: medRxiv
Background Large-scale data show that the mortality of COVID-19 varies dramatically across populations, although the cause of these disparities is not well understood. In this study we investigated whether severe COVID-19 is linked to Vitamin D (Vit D) deficiency. Method Daily admission, recovery and deceased rate data for patients with COVID-19 from countries with a large number of confirmed patients (Germany, South Korea (S. Korea), China (Hubei), Switzerland, Iran, UK, US, France, Spain, Italy) as of April 20, 2020 were used. The time-adjusted case mortality ratio (T-CMR) was estimated as the number of deceased patients on day N divided by the number of confirmed cases on day N-8. The adaptive average of T-CMR (A-CMR) was further calculated as a metric of COVID-19 associated mortality in different countries. Although data on Vit D level is not currently available for COVID-19 patients, we leveraged the previously established links between Vit D and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and between CRP and severe COVID-19, respectively, to estimate the potential impact of Vit D on the reduction of severe COVID-19. Findings A link between Vit D status and COVID-19 A-CMR in the US, France, and the UK (countries with similar screening status) may exist. Combining COVID-19 patient data and prior work on Vit D and CRP levels, we show that the risk of severe COVID-19 cases among patients with severe Vit D deficiency is 17.3% while the equivalent figure for patients with normal Vit D levels is 14.6% (a reduction of 15.6%). Interpretation Given that CRP is a surrogate marker for severe COVID-19 and is associated with Vit D deficiency, our finding suggests that Vit D may reduce COVID-19 severity by suppressing cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients. Further research is needed to account for other factors through direct measurement of Vit D levels.
Social Distancing Has Merely Stabilized COVID-19 in the US
Authors: Wagner AB et al
Journal: medRxiv preprint
Social distancing measures, with varying degrees of restriction, have been imposed around the world in order to stem the spread of COVID-19. In this work we analyze the effect of current social distancing measures in the United States. We quantify the reduction in doubling rate, by state, that is associated with social distancing. We find that social distancing is associated with a statistically-significant reduction in the doubling rate for all but three states. At the same time, we do not find significant evidence that social distancing has resulted in a reduction in the number of daily confirmed cases. Instead, social distancing has merely stabilized the spread of the disease. We provide an illustration of our findings for each state, including point estimates of the effective reproduction number, R, both with and without social distancing. We also discuss the policy implications of our findings.
COVID-19 drugs trial rolled out across UK homes and communities
Source: Medical Research Council
A UK trial – testing whether low-risk treatment in the community can help people at higher risk of complications from COVID-19 to get better quicker, reducing the need for hospital admission – is today announcing that older people who have had coronavirus symptoms for 15 days or less can now also screen for the trial online.
More than 500 GP surgeries are already recruiting people aged 50–64 with a pre-existing illness, or aged 65 and over, into the trial.
It is the first trial of COVID-19 treatments to take place in primary care, one of the UK Government's four national priority platform trials on the disease, and is funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) COVID-19 rapid response.
Estimating the burden of SARS-CoV-2 in France
Authors: Salje H et al
Journal: Science
DOI: 10.1126/science.abc3517
France has been heavily affected by the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and went into lockdown on the 17 March 2020. Using models applied to hospital and death data, we estimate the impact of the lockdown and current population immunity. We find 3.6% of infected individuals are hospitalized and 0.7% die, ranging from 0.001% in those <20 years of age (ya) to 10.1% in those >80ya. Across all ages, men are more likely to be hospitalized, enter intensive care, and die than women. The lockdown reduced the reproductive number from 2.90 to 0.67 (77% reduction). By 11 May 2020, when interventions are scheduled to be eased, we project 2.8 million (range: 1.8–4.7) people, or 4.4% (range: 2.8–7.2) of the population, will have been infected. Population immunity appears insufficient to avoid a second wave if all control measures are released at the end of the lockdown.
ESTUDIO ENE-COVID19: PRIMERA RONDA ESTUDIO NACIONAL DE SERO-EPIDEMIOLOGÍA DE LA INFECCIÓN POR SARS-COV-2 EN ESPAÑA
Source: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Resumen ejecutivo
ENE-Covid19 es un amplio estudio longitudinal sero-epidemiológico, de base poblacional, cuyos objetivos son estimar la prevalencia de infección por SARS-Cov2 mediante la determinación de anticuerpos frente al virus en España y evaluar su evolución temporal.
Los resultados presentados hoy, para la primera ronda se refieren a la lectura de la banda de IgG del test rápido, ya que sólo disponemos de resultados parciales del análisis por inmunoensayo.
En la primera ronda de ENE-Covid19 (27 de abril a 11 de mayo) se han reclutado 60983 participantes en la muestra nacional y 3234 en el estudio específico insular, no incluido en este informe. La tasa de participación entre los individuos elegibles ha sido 62,3%, y considerando solamente las personas que han podido ser contactadas alcanza el 74,7%.
La prevalencia estimada de anticuerpos IgG frente a SARS-Cov2 en España es de un 5,0% (95% IC: 4,7%- 5,4%), siendo muy similar en hombres y mujeres( 5,0% (95% IC: 4,6%-5,4%) versus 5,1% (95% IC: 4,7%) . En relación con la edad, la prevalencia es menor en bebes, niños y en jóvenes, permaneciendo bastante estable en grupos de más edad.
La proporción de positivos es mayor en residentes de grandes ciudades (>100.000 habitantes) 6,4% (IC 95%: 5,8-7,1).
ENE-Covid19 is a large population-based sero-epidemiological longitudinal study, the objectives of which are to estimate the prevalence of SARS-Cov2 infection by determining antibodies against the virus in Spain and evaluating its temporal evolution.
The results presented today for the first round refer to the reading of the IgG band of the rapid test, since we only have partial results of the analysis by immunoassay.
In the first round of ENE-Covid19 (April 27 to May 11), 60,983 participants in the national sample and 3,234 in the island-specific study, not included in this report, were recruited. The participation rate among eligible individuals has been 62.3%, and considering only the people who have been contacted, it reaches 74.7%.
The estimated prevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-Cov2 in Spain is 5.0% (95% CI: 4.7% - 5.4%), being very similar in men and women (5.0% (95 % CI: 4.6% -5.4%) versus 5.1% (95% CI: 4.7%). In relation to age, the prevalence is lower in babies, children and young people, remaining quite stable in older age groups.
The proportion of positives is higher in residents of large cities (> 100,000 inhabitants) 6.4% (95% CI: 5.8-7.1).
COVID-19 Total Antibody Test from Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Receives CE Mark
Ortho's COVID-19 total antibody test receives CE Mark
- Ortho's total antibody test may be used as aid in diagnosis and to support decisions for getting people back to work
- The test offers excellent performance, with 100 percent specificity and sensitivity
- Ortho began shipping its antibody test to customers in highly impacted geographies and plans to manufacture several million COVID-19 antibody tests each month
- Ortho has over 5,600 Immunodiagnostic systems installed around the world
Roche's COVID-19 antibody test receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization and is available in markets accepting the CE mark
Source: Roche
The serology test has a specificity greater than 99.8% and sensitivity of 100% (14 Days post-PCR confirmation)
The high specificity of the test is crucial to determine reliably if a person has been exposed to the virus and if the patient has developed antibodies
Roche will provide high double-digit millions of tests already in May for countries accepting the CE mark and in the U.S. under Emergency Use Authorization, further ramping up capacities thereafter
The test is available on Roche's cobas e analysers which are widely available around the world
Basel, 03 May 2020 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)1 for its new Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test. The test is designed to help determine if a patient has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and if the patient has developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Roche has already started shipping the new antibody test to leading laboratories globally and will ramp up production capacity to high double-digit millions per month to serve healthcare systems in countries accepting the CE mark2 as well as the U.S.
Roundtable - COVID-19: How New Information Should Drive Policy
US government Senate hearing
Scott W. Atlas, M.D.
David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow
David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H.
True Health Initiative
Pierre Kory, M.D., M.P.A.
Critical Care Service Chief
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
John P.A. Ioannidis, M.D.
C.F. Rehnborg Professor in Disease Prevention
Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Tom Inglesby, M.D.
Director, Center for Health Security
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Media – Science related
Sunlight and fresh air can protect against coronavirus, Sage adviser tells MPs
Author: Sarah Knapton
Source: The Telegraph
Fresh air and sunshine are protective against coronavirus, one of the Government's chief scientific advisers has said.
The decision to release some of the UK's lockdown restrictions, allowing people to spend more time outdoors, have faced criticism from those claiming that will reverse the benefits of lockdown and help spread the virus.
On Wednesday, new rules came into effect, allowing people to exercise outdoors as much as they like and take part in sports such as golf, tennis and fishing. People can also meet up with one person from outside their household.
Giving evidence at the science and technology select committee, Professor Alan Penn, the chief scientific adviser at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said being outdoors will help prevent people from contracting the virus.
WHO supports scientifically-proven traditional medicine
Source: World Health Organization Africa
he World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes innovations around the world including repurposing drugs, traditional medicines and developing new therapies in the search for potential treatments for COVID-19.
WHO recognizes that traditional, complementary and alternative medicine has many benefits and Africa has a long history of traditional medicine and practitioners that play an important role in providing care to populations. Medicinal plants such as Artemisia annua are being considered as possible treatments for COVID-19 and should be tested for efficacy and adverse side effects. Africans deserve to use medicines tested to the same standards as people in the rest of the world. Even if therapies are derived from traditional practice and natural, establishing their efficacy and safety through rigorous clinical trials is critical.
African governments through their Ministers of Health adopted a resolution urging Member States to produce evidence on the safety, efficacy and quality of traditional medicine at the Fiftieth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in 2000. Countries also agreed to undertake relevant research and require national medicines regulatory agencies to approve medicines in line with international standards, which include the product following a strict research protocol and undergoing tests and clinical trials. These studies normally involve hundreds of people under the monitoring of the national regulatory authorities and may take quite a few months in an expedited process.
Estimates of number of deaths of care home residents linked to the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Authors: Adelina Comas-Herrera and Jose-Luis Fernández
Source: London School of Economics
New report estimating the mortality impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people who live in care homes in England.
Data on deaths in care homes directly attributed to COVID-19 underestimate the impact of the pandemic on care home residents, as they do not take account of indirect mortality effects of the pandemic and/or because of problems with the identification of the disease as the cause of death.
Data on registered COVID-19 deaths in care homes in England and Wales only accounts for an estimated 41.6% of all excess deaths in care homes.
Not all care home residents die in care homes, (according to CQC data, 15% of all deaths of care home residents are found to happen in hospitals). Deaths of care home residents in hospitals are not currently accounted for in publicly available estimates of the number of deaths in care homes linked to the pandemic.
Calculating total excess mortality in care homes since 28th December (19,038, 46% of all excess mortality in England and Wales), and adjusting this by the assumption that 15% of care home residents die in hospital, suggests that by the 1st May there had been in excess of 22,000 deaths of care home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic (54% of all excess mortality) in England and Wales.
Inside the NIH's controversial decision to stop its big remdesivir study
Author: Matthew Herper
Source: STAT
The drug maker Gilead Sciences released a bombshell two weeks ago: A study conducted by a U.S. government agency had found that the company's experimental drug, remdesivir, was the first treatment shown to have even a small effect against Covid-19.
Behind that ray of hope, though, was one of the toughest quandaries in medicine: how to balance the need to rigorously test a new medicine for safety and effectiveness with the moral imperative to get patients a treatment that works as quickly as possible. At the heart of the decision was a process that was — as is often in the case in clinical trials — by turns secretive and bureaucratic.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has described to STAT in new detail how it made its fateful decision: to start giving remdesivir to patients who had been assigned to receive a placebo in the study, essentially limiting researchers' ability to collect more data about whether the drug saves lives — something the study, called ACTT-1, suggests but does not prove. In the trial, 8% of the participants given remdesivir died, compared with 11.6% of the placebo group, a difference that was not statistically significant
Telemedicine can be a COVID-19 game-changer. Here's how
Author: Cornelius Kalenzi
Source: World Economic Forum
Governments must reimagine healthcare delivery in the face of COVID-19.
Telemedicine could be a big part of the answer - both now, and in a post-pandemic world.
Here are 5 barriers to its implementation - and how to overcome them.
Media – Reporting
Coronavirus: Thousands of Covid patients to have genome studied
Source: BBC News
Researchers are to study the genetic codes of severely-ill Covid-19 patients to find out why the disease affects some people more than others.
The Edinburgh University-led programme will identify the specific genes that cause a predisposition to the disease.
It will allow the genome sequencing of up 20,000 people who have been in intensive care with Covid-19, and 15,000 who have mild symptoms.
The findings will then be used to suggest potential treatments.
Results from the study will also inform global strategic planning for possible later waves of Covid-19 and other pandemics in the future.
Naomi Klein: How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic
Author: Naomi Klein
For a few fleeting moments during the New York governor Andrew Cuomo's daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday 6 May, the sombre grimace that has filled our screens for weeks was briefly replaced by something resembling a smile.
"We are ready, we're all-in," the governor gushed. "We are New Yorkers, so we're aggressive about it, we're ambitious about it … We realise that change is not only imminent, but it can actually be a friend if done the right way."
The inspiration for these uncharacteristically good vibes was a video visit from the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who joined the governor's briefing to announce that he will be heading up a panel to reimagine New York state's post-Covid reality, with an emphasis on permanently integrating technology into every aspect of civic life.
Government has 'terrorised' Britons into believing coronavirus will kill them, says adviser
Author: Christopher Hope
The Government's coronavirus warnings have "effectively terrorised" Britons "into believing that this is a disease that is going to kill you" even though most those infected will not be hospitalised, one of its advisers has warned.
Professor Robert Dingwall also told Friday's Chopper's Politics podcast – which you can listen to on the player below – that the Government should let people come within 1.5 metres of each other inside and outside as part of measures to ease the lockdown.
The public authorities face a challenge to manage the British people out of the levels of fear and anxiety that they have helped create through their "Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives" messaging, he warned.
Coronavirus: Twitter will label Covid-19 fake news
Twitter has started putting warning messages on tweets containing misleading information about Covid-19.
And it confirmed US President Donald Trump, who has previously suggested injecting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus, would be subject to the new rules.
But one expert fears moderators will be overwhelmed and asked how much notice people would take of the warnings.
Some may even see warnings on tweets as "a mark of pride", he suggested.
In a blog, Twitter said it wanted to "limit the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content" around the coronavirus.


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Canada Current Affairs - 2020
Shefali Juneja appointed India's representative to ICAO's council
Senior bureaucrat Shefali Juneja was appointed as representative of India (JS Level) in council of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Montreal, Canada.
About Shefali Juneja
She is a 1992 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre) and is currently serving as the Joint Secretary in Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA).
She has been appointed to Representative of India post in the council of ICAO, Montreal, Canada. Her tenure as a representative will for a period of three years.
She will replace senior IAS officer Alok Shekhar who was selected for this post in October 2015.
About International Civil Aviation Organisation
It is a specialized agency of United Nations, charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel.
Background: ICAO was established in 1944 by Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). It is headquartered in Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Objective: To manage administration and governance of Chicago Convention.
It works with Member States (193) and several industry groups, towards reaching a consensus on international civil aviation Standards accepted globally and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and policies.
ICAO Member States use these SARPs and policies, to ensure that their local civil aviation operations and regulations conform to global norms and also to support safe, efficient, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector.
ICAO Council: It is composed of 36 member states, who are elected for a 3 year term.
Council's member states are chosen under three headings-
States of chief importance in air transport
States which make largest contribution to provision of facilities for air navigation
States whose designation will ensure that all major areas of world are represented in the council
Month: Current Affairs – June, 2019 Categories: Persons in News
Tags: Alok Shekhar • Canada • Chicago Convention • Convention on International Civil Aviation • ICAO
Fact Box: Formula One Canadian Grand Prix
Britain's Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won Formula One Canadian Grand Prix 2019 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This was Hamilton's seventh win on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and now made him equalled Michael Schumacher's record.
Lewis Hamilton was followed by Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel of Germany in 2nd place and Charles Leclerc of Monaco in 3rd place.
Hamilton emerged victorious after a controversial penalty made by Sebastian Vettel gifted him a milestone win.
Penalty: Sebastian Vettel made an error on the limit and went off track on lap 48 of circuit, running across grass before rejoining and forcing off Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who later emerged championship leader and eventual winner. For this he was hit with a 5-second penalty which ultimately led to his loss.
The next Grand Prix, is scheduled to be run in France on June 23 at the Le Castellet raceway. It will be 8th of the 21 that make up world circuit of 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.
About 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
It is a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. It was 7th round of 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Month: Current Affairs – June, 2019 Categories: Sports & Games
Tags: 2019 Canadian Grand Prix • Canada • Charles Leclerc • Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal • FIA Formula One World Championship.
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text:
module Agx
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    attr_reader :title, :detail, :body, :raw_body, :status_code

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      @detail      = message
      @body        = params[:body]
      @raw_body    = params[:raw_body]
      @status_code = params[:status_code]

      super(message)
    end

    def to_s
      super + " " + instance_variables_to_s
    end

    private

    def instance_variables_to_s
      [:title, :detail, :body, :raw_body, :status_code].map do |attr|
        attr_value = send(attr)

        "@#{attr}=#{attr_value.inspect}"
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end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A one hour seminar on general health issues that affect so many employees today. These seminars addresses the factors that contribute to our lack of energy and focus, digestive problems, weight issues and stress. Seminars provide everyday measures that can be taken to improve health, happiness and reduce loss of productivity. Best done in small groups of no more than 25 per seminar. Includes material, food recommendations and giveaways.
Sugar Blues - Loss of Energy and Focus!
For those business that have a pronounced employee issue and wish to assist their staff to dramatically improve their overall health I offer a 6 week coaching program. We will address more specific health issues with the keeping of a food journal, food and recipe suggestions and ways to create a more balanced lifestyle.
For those business or non-profits that provide in-house cafeterias. This service includes analysis of the nutritional value of food current served and ways to improve employee health by offering healthier meals.
Offered to those non-profits that operate group homes and are concerned by the food being consumed by the residents. This program provides an analysis of present food consumption and provides an education on recipe selection, food purchasing and preparation for optimum health and enjoyment.
Sign up me up for the Digestive Health bi-weekly newsletter!
I WANT TO RECEIVE THE WELLNESS AND WEIGHT-LOSS NEWSLETTER!


text:
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Number of Traditional Undergraduates 90
Location Merrimack, NH
Number of Majors 1
Catholic Faculty 100%
Median High School GPA 3.5
The traditional charm of most New England colleges, including some of America's oldest universities, has been largely replaced by state-of-the-art buildings, research facilities, and sports complexes. But on a colonial-era farm in Merrimack, New Hampshire, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (TMC) has preserved both the charm and the essence of traditional American higher education, when thoughtful students studied literature and philosophy beneath the canopy of great maple trees.
TMC's students study Western civilization and Christianity, with an emphasis on the Great Books. The College offers one degree for all students in the liberal arts, with an integrated, four-year core curriculum. Although students come from many states and have been growing in number, presently TMC's enrollment is fewer than 100 students.
While the College may seem tiny and quaint to some, for the students and faculty at TMC it represents a much-needed revival of education. Like many of the Newman Guide colleges, this is a post-Vatican II institution, founded by and for Catholic laity in 1978. Its emphasis on student internships and cultural leadership blend with the art and music program, which is designed to imitate medieval guild apprenticeships, and a mandatory Rome semester.
In 2017, the College founded the Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture, which provides lectures, educational programs and opportunities for people in New England and throughout the country.
The trustees and employees of the College all pledge fidelity to the Catholic faith, while the College also emphasizes that non-Catholic students are welcome. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of freshmen are not Catholic in any given year.
The college is governed by a nine-member lay board, which includes Patrick Monaghan, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, and TMC alumna the Hon. Maureen C. Mooney, former Assistant House Republican Leader of New Hampshire. President William Fahey arrived at TMC in 2007 from Christendom College, where he was founding chairman of the classical and early Christian studies department. Before his appointment to president in 2009, Dr. Fahey served as provost, vice president for academic affairs, and professor of humanities.
TMC has published an eighteen-issue journal called, Second Spring: An International Journal of Faith and Culture. In 2016 TMC launched its new academic press, Thomas More College Press.
TMC is located in the New England town of Merrimack, which has about 27,000 residents and is within easy access to Manchester and Nashua. Boston is about 50 miles away. In 2014 the College acquired a Gilded Age mansion and former Convent School in order to expand its residential capacity and offer greater numbers of public lectures and concerts.
At $31,300 for tuition, room, and board, costs are well below the average for private colleges in pricey New England. Financial aid packages are available for academic and need-based applicants. The special Our Lady of Guadalupe scholarships are also available for applicants from Canada, Mexico, and South America.
TMC's academic program has a number of specific goals, selected as the marks of an educated Catholic. Examples include the ability to read Latin or Greek proficiently; to recognize pattern, harmony, symmetry, and order in works of nature and art; to explain what is meant by happiness and the common good; and to recognize, articulate, and defend the deposit of the Faith, drawn from Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
All students take a common humanities core sequenced by year, starting with the Greeks and moving through the Moderns, over four years. In 2012 TMC added a new course called Traditio. All students of the College meet to discuss texts in common, and the Traditio sequence revolves around great themes such as faith, sacrifice, friendship, pilgrimage, or war and peace.
The core has several other unique aspects. Students take a substantial six semesters of theology and Scripture. In addition to four semesters of Latin or Greek, students learn to communicate according to the principles of classical rhetoric in the three-semester writing tutorial. Students get a healthy dose of mathematics, science, and philosophy.
The curriculum includes a unique emphasis on arts and music, including the "Way of Beauty" sequence in the first year, which orients students to the role of beauty in perceiving truth and leading a life of virtue. All students learn chant and polyphony, including chanting the psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours. They also study the principles of order and harmony in Euclidean geometry and how it is used in traditional Catholic art and architecture.
The upperclassman core includes a tutorial program. Juniors and seniors work with their classmates and the professors (at TMC called Fellows) to create unique tutorials in areas of interest, which change from semester to semester. In the junior year, the areas of concentration can be particular authors, philosophers, works of literature, theological teachings, etc., culminating in an oral examination. Seniors concentrate in particular disciplines and complete a thesis, which is publicly presented and defended before graduating.
All full-time sophomores study in Rome for one semester, residing at an historic villa with the Maronite Catholic monks of Saint Anthony Monastery, five miles from St. Peter's Basilica. Students take a full course load and travel throughout the city and to other cities, like Assisi and Siena, as well. Students can also study in England for three weeks at Downside Abbey and Oxford.
TMC supports several internship programs in specific fields including journalism, law, or finance. In Rome, the Vatican Studies Center helps students work temporarily for news agencies including Vatican Radio, Zenit, H2O News, and Aleteia.
Students are expected to abide by a code of honor and, with every exam or assignment, pledge that work is their own. Trusting in the honesty of students, Fellows at TMC usually do not proctor exams.
Three Benedictine monks and three diocesan priests offer daily Mass and confession throughout the week. One Monsignor and several Maronite monks serve the students in Rome.
Thomas More College is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus every year at a solemn Mass. Five chaplains celebrate daily Mass, including Extraordinary Form Mass on Fridays, in a small chapel on campus. The chapel is filled with icons and sacred art.
Typically, about 50 percent of the students and faculty attend daily Mass. A student schola leads English and Latin chant.
Students also can attend Extraordinary Form Masses daily at a local parish entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, or attend the Byzantine Catholic liturgy at the nearby Melkite church.
Confession is available daily as well as by appointment. Students chant morning prayer (Lauds) and evening prayer (Vespers) each day. There are also Divine Mercy devotions, nightly recitation of the Rosary, weekly exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and voluntary retreats for men and women each semester.
Every day since the founding of the College, students have been found reciting the Rosary in the chapel or at the outdoor Marian shrine. They also have easy access to parishes in Merrimack and Nashua, with St. Joseph Cathedral of the Diocese of Manchester 20 minutes away, and the traditional community of the St. Benedict Center within a short drive.
Thomas More's campus is primarily residential, with 95 percent of the students on campus. Students live in two residence halls, Kopka Hall for women and Stillman House for men.
Students are not allowed into the residences of the opposite sex. Chastity is encouraged formally and informally through student life, chastity talks, conversations with the chaplain, and peer monitoring. There is a curfew, both during the week and on the weekend. Alcohol is never permitted except on special occasions monitored by the College.
One student commented that by living on campus, students get to know each other very well. "It's almost like a family. You know 90 people very well. We go to class together, we pray together, and meals are communal."
Denis Kitzinger, dean of students at the College, said, "Students at Thomas More partake in the stewardship and care of the campus. They help host social events, assist in cleaning and maintaining the dormitories at regular times of the week, and take turns helping in the kitchen."
There are regular banquets in which students dine with faculty and their families. Typically there is an address by a visiting guest or Fellow of the College, a musical performance by one of the student choirs, spontaneous recitations, or plays.
Crime in Merrimack is very low; it has been recognized as one of the safest small towns in the United States. Students have access to three regional hospitals, each about 10 minutes away.
There is time for informal relaxation, and the Student Social Council meets every week to help direct social functions. Social events include excursions to outdoor locales and to cities such as nearby Nashua and Manchester, as well as Boston. Winters provide opportunities for skiing. There are many hiking options in the mountainous state, and the College's proximity to the sea encourages sailing or whale watching.
TMC's Catholic guilds enable students to gain skills and experience from master craftsmen in areas such as sacred art, sacred music, folk music, woodworking, and gardening. These guilds take their spirit from the associations of men and women who advanced their trades and responded to the needs of their local communities in the Medieval Age. Visiting Fellow John Folley teaches students drawing and painting in the classical Western tradition. Recent graduate Bridget Lawler teaches the principles and practice of sacred music.
The College has a political discussion group, debate society, brewing club, student folk band, and schola cantorum. In addition, students have access to the Merrimack YMCA next to the college. Students pray in front of an abortion facility and attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
The director of student life organizes events including formal banquets and dances, movie nights, talent shows, bonfires, and campus-wide games. TMC also sponsors field trips each weekend to nearby locations such as Boston, the White Mountains, the beaches of Maine, Robert Frost's Farm, and various museums.
All students perform service on campus, including working in the dining hall, participating in snow removal, and assisting with security.
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts provides a rigorous, classical education. Alumni have told us that the College offered a liberating experience that was refreshing and sometimes surprising.
There are several unique aspects of the College, including its humanities sequence, "Way of Beauty" courses, and traditional spiritual life. With its 40 years of existence, the College has lived up to its founders' desire to preserve traditional Catholic liberal arts education.
Thomas More College has long emphasized its intellectual offerings and has strengthened its already notable Catholic identity. For students seeking an enriching intellectual experience, TMC has much to offer.
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which is approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
Graduates of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts have been accepted into 80 different graduate programs in the United States and Europe and 30 Law Schools.
Amongst graduates of the past four years: There is not a single known graduate without employment at time of writing.
As sample of employment and activities of graduates in the four years:
-Current Graduate, Law and Advanced Professional students at institutions such as Notre Dame School of Classical Architecture, the Catholic University of America, Fordham University, International Institute of Theology (Austria), St. John's College Graduate School, the Culinary Institute of America, the Regis University School of Nursing and Medicine, and the University of New Hampshire Law School.
-Recent graduates can also be found in the following professions: Elementary and Secondary education (5 states), Finance (Fidelity and Morgan Stanley), Insurance (Knights of Columbus), Inner-city youth mentoring (Youth Leadership Foundation), Journalism (Delaware State News, The St. Austin Review), Deep-Sea Fishing (Alaska); and the U.S. Army (Afghanistan).
-In addition to those former students who are now priests and religious, recent graduates have entered the seminaries for Portland, OR; St. Louis, MO; Providence, RI; and the Oratory in Lewiston, ME. One recent graduate is becoming a Benedictine Brother in Still River, MA, and another is entering the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Boston, MA.
Over the last five years, The Association of College Trustees and Alumni has ranked TMC among the top 2% of American liberal arts colleges for its curriculum.  The Christian College report ranked TMC among the best 30 colleges in the nation.  The Young America's Foundation designated TMC as one of the best 14 colleges in the United States. Thomas More College is also ranked amongst the better school's by BestColleges.com, The Best Schools, and was featured in Time magazine's "Who needs Harvard?" cover article.
SAT: 1150
In its 2011 "Catholic Identity College Guide," the National Catholic Register gave the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts a perfect score on achieving the ten "essential elements of the renewal of Catholic identity called for by Pope John Paul II's 1990 apostolic constitution on higher education, Ex corde Ecclesiae." First Things magazine ranked TMC as one of the 7 Most Catholic Colleges in the U.S. And the Young America's Foundation has ranked it one of the most conservative and pro-Western Civilization Colleges in the U.S.
William Fahey, Ph.D. Fellow and President is the editor and translator of The Foundations of Western Monasticism.  He has spoken throughout the United States and Europe on the Catholic intellectual life, Monastic Culture, and Catholic political theory.  He is the editor of the Civilized Reader for Crisis Magazine.
Joseph Pearce, Visiting Fellow, is editor of The St. Austin Review, the author of 14 books, and an acclaimed lecturer in the United States and Europe.
David Clayton, M.A., Liturgical Instructor and Visiting Fellow, is a painter of icons and an interpreter of Catholic Art in the Way of Beauty series with Catholic TV.
Paul Jernberg, Composer-in-Residence, is an authority in sacred music and leads the schola and recording initiative at the College.
Anthony Esolen is an accomplished author and translator of Dante's Divine Comedy. An expert on literature and language, Dr. Esolen has many lectures and has made many appearances on television and Radio.
Phillip Lawler is the author or editor of ten books, of which the most recent is Lost Shepherd, due for publication in February 2018. His essays and book reviews have appeared in dozens of magazines, including National Review, Crisis, The Critic, 30 Days, Modern Age, Policy Review, and the American Spectator. His columns have appeared in over 100 newspapers around the United States and abroad, including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and Wall Street Journal.
Thomas More College does not make distinctions among "departments"; the faculty is one body. Three fellows in New Hampshire and one in Rome are dedicated to teaching theology.
Does every faculty member in the theological disciplines have a mandatum (or "canonical mission" for ecclesiastical faculties) approved by the appropriate Church authority, as required by Canon Law?
Sacred Scripture is studied in 6 distinct courses over the entire four years at TMC.  The Fathers of the Church and St. Thomas are considered the privileged interpreters of Scripture, and Tradition. During the first year students are introduced to the role that beauty plays in the perception and articulation of truth and in personal and social sanctification through the "Way of Beauty" sequence. All students learn how to chant the Liturgy of the Hours. In Rome, students take a course focusing on sacred art and architecture.
The Theology sequence at Thomas More College is not a "cafeteria" approach in which undergraduates pick amongst any number of "religion" courses.  The classes are a common sequence of courses over the course of all four years.  The College places an emphasis on the regular study of Scripture across these years, with an understanding that Sacred Scripture should be studied under the guiding light of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church.  All students are required to attend to the cultural, musical, and artistic dimension of the Catholic Faith through courses in sacred art, liturgy, architecture, and music.  The encounter with Jesus Christ is considered the preeminent purpose of studying theology at the College.
First Year Fall Term: Introductory Latin, I or Introductory Greek, I; The Way of Beauty, I; Humanities, I: The Greek Inheritance; Natural Science, I: Natural History; Expectatio Gentium: The Desire for God.
First Year Spring Term: Introductory Latin, II or Introductory Greek, II;  The Way of Beauty, II; Humanities, II: Rome & Early-Christian Culture; Euclid's Elements of Geometry; Redemptor Hominis: The Redeemer; Natural Science, II: Natural History
Second Year Rome Term (Fall or Spring): Intermediate Latin or Intermediate Greek; Poetics; Humanities, IV: Approaches to the Eternal City; Art & Architecture in Rome; Mysterium Salutis: The Teaching of St. Paul.
Second Year Merrimack Term (Fall or Spring): Intermediate Latin or Intermediate Greek; Writing Tutorial, I: Writing & the Love of Learning; Humanities, III: The Christian Civilization of Medieval Europe; Logic; Coram Angelis: Prayer Seeking Understanding.
Third Year Fall Term: Junior Tutorial; Writing Tutorial, II: The Essay & the Art of Rhetoric; Humanities, V: Renaissance & Reformation; Natural Science, II: Nature & Motion; On the Good Life, I: Ethics.
Third Year Spring Term: Junior Tutorial; Writing Tutorial, III: Fidelity to the Word—Mastery of Prose & Verse; Humanities, VI: Enlightenment & Revolution; On the Soul; On the Good Life, II: Politics; Junior Project (required, but no credits).
Fourth Year Fall Term: Senior Tutorial; Senior Thesis Reading; Humanities, VII: American Studies; Metaphysics; The Divine Economy.
Fourth Year Spring Term: Senior Tutorial; Senior Thesis Defense; Humanities, VIII: The Modern Age; Senior Seminar: Nostra Aetate; Life in Christ.
The doctrine of the Faith is presented in the context of the four courses in Sacred Scripture and the two advanced courses in Theology listed above. All theology courses listed above include selections from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Additional Core Curriculum information, clarification or description (optional):
Three to four times each term, students participate in Traditio, a full day of seminars and lectures in which all students and faculty together read and discuss the same texts or great work of art or music.
Thomas More College has a single program of studies for all students, with concentration possible through the upper division tutorial system.
Most contemporary courses of study in higher education aim at the production of a specialized skill that will be immediately profitable in the modern economy.  Liberal education, however, aims at the production of a certain kind of human being, a man or woman whose soul is characterized by a love for what is noble and whose speech and action are compelling witnesses to the value of a life spent in pursuit of the good.  At Thomas More College, even those parts of the curriculum which are devoted to specialized learning have a crucial role to play in integral human formation.
The College's tutorial system provides an opportunity for individual students to shape a portion of their course of studies.  Students take one tutorial course in each of their last four semesters of study. Some students will choose to pursue their own personally-tailored course of study in a particular academic discipline.  Others may opt for a systematic testing of different talents and subjects.  In the Junior Tutorials, the classes may be arranged around an author, a genre, a time period, or a problem.  The Senior Tutorials are organized according to more conventional academic disciplines, such as Classics or Literature, or to vocational pursuits, such as Architecture or Education.  In either case, the small size of the tutorials provides for careful training in thinking, writing, and speaking, so that students might further hone the abilities they have gained from the common curriculum.
In the case of the Junior Project—a course of independent reading leading to an oral presentation and examination—and the Senior Thesis, individual student interest and creativity are given a still sharper focus.  The goal of these exercises is less to prove expertise than it is to bring to a level of polish and maturity those skills of analysis, judgment, and exposition that are the very backbone of any liberal education worthy of the name.  These exercises are meant to be the fruits of the whole educational experience and to prove that each student has personally appropriated the wisdom and eloquence that the whole community seeks in common.
N/A, but the most popular tutorials recently have been in philosophy, literature, politics, and law.
The College's Traditio program of full-day seminars which unite all students and faculty in the discussion of a common text, and occasional public lectures are the academic events in which questions of general interest–including theological interest–are regularly raised.
While students may effectively pursue a concentrated interest or discipline (such a theology or law or advance classical languages) through the tutorial system, the majority of the College's curriculum is a common core experience and the faculty do not consider themselves separated by disciplines, but rather united in pursuit of Wisdom and the study of the Catholic and Western Intellectual traditions.   The Fellows of the College understand their academic life as chiefly a cooperative endeavor, a life in common and in pursuit of the Truth.  Individual Fellows at the College pursue a variety of research interests, but the "ethos" of Thomas More College is to seek out cooperative projects amongst faculty and amongst students, when appropriate.
An example of faculty cooperative projects would include the hosting of "Faith & Reason" seminars in which the Fathers and Doctors of the Church are systematically discussed over the course of several summers.
An example of faculty and student cooperative projects would include student research assistantships in the creation of a book on "Marriage and the Family" or internship arranged with Sophia Institute Press.
The College maintains an Oxford Program in which students from Thomas More study British Catholic Culture for three weeks, including time in residence at Oxford University.  Four students each year are selected to be St. Edmund Campion Fellows.  These Fellows have all tuition and travel expenses paid by the College to study in this 6-credit hour summer program.  New programs for those interested in elementary and high school English language instruction have recently been offered through the College in Spain, Ireland, and Poland.
Sunday Mass is currently available at local parishes in both the ordinary and extraordinary form.  Holy days of obligation are always observed.
95% (including some non-Catholics)
Approximately 60-70% of the student body attend Mass on weekdays.
Monday-Thursday, 11:30 AM: Ordinary Form
Friday, 11:30 AM: Extraordinary Form
Sunday Mass and daily Mass (including Saturday) within a ten-minute drive from campus: several parishes offer the Ordinary Form; a parish entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter offers the Extraordinary Form High Mass on Sunday and Holy Days and Low Mass weekdays. Melkite and Ukrainian parishes are a twenty-five minute drive from campus.
The College gives pride of place to Gregorian Chant, Renaissance polyphony, and traditional hymnody, in that order.
Yes (every day during the week before Mass)
11:00 A.M. Monday through Friday
Saturday at local parishes 30 minutes prior to Mass
Sunday at local parishes 90 and 30 minutes prior to Mass
Other: as scheduled personally.
Thursday, from after the 11:30 AM Mass to 5 PM.
Lauds and Vespers Monday through Friday, Rosary and Compline daily
As with previous years, semester retreats for men and women are planned for the 2018-2019 academic year.  Also, there is a St. Thomas More men's group to assist young men in discerning their vocation.  Students from the College are invited to make short retreats and long-stays during College holidays at the nearby St. Benedict's Abbey in Stillriver, MA.
A sample includes: Fr. Jeremy Paulin, OMV (Vocation Director for the Oblates of the Virgin Mary); Fr. Kevin O'Keeefe (Diocese of Savannah); Fr. Thomas Leland (Diocese of Salina);  and Fr. Matthew Mason (Diocese of Manchester).
Amongst recent female religious vocations are two religious in the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (MA) who attended Thomas More College, as well as one Carmelite nun in the Community of St. Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen (Flemington, NJ) and Sister Veritas of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Dorchester MA.
Ordinary Form Masses are generally offered ad orientem with some of the Ordinary prayers in Latin. Communion is received kneeling.
95% of our students live on campus in one of our two single-sex dormitories, whether in New Hampshire or in Rome. The College currently has five commuter students.
Neither the possession nor the consumption of alcohol is permitted in the dormitories. The College does allow students of age to have wine or beer, served by residence life staff, during banquets on observed feast days and at special College celebrations such as the birthday of St. Thomas More.  Alcohol is treated and understood as a created good, which is open to abuse but may be properly enjoyed in moderation under specific conditions. Those difficulties common on larger campuses do not seem prevalent at Thomas More College.
Formal talks on chastity are given each academic year during orientation, after which the Chaplain blesses the dormitories.  The students discuss human sexuality within the context of marriage during certain courses in the curriculum.  The residence life staff upholds the College rules such as the dress code, which sets the goodness of chastity before the students as a Christian norm not only expected of Catholic undergraduates but conducive to their own happiness.
The student code and custom encourage exclusive dating only after the first two years. In addition to the Dean of Students, there is a Director or Student Life who assists the Residence Life Staff in creating a simple, but authentic "culture of life" atmosphere. The College is not aware of any violations.
Formal programs that foster prayer and spiritual life center on the chapel and a number of regularly scheduled retreats and exercises. All freshmen are taught to sing the Liturgy of the Hours during their first semester. In addition, the sophomore class in Sacred Scripture, Coram Angelis, includes instruction about prayer and liturgy. Additional and informal prayer groups are left to the initiative of the students under the direction of the Dean of Students.
Formal programs that foster prayer and spiritual life center on the chapel and a number of regularly scheduled retreats and exercises. All freshmen are taught to sing the Liturgy of the Hours during their first semester. In addition, the sophomore class in Sacred Scripture, Coram Angelis, includes instruction about prayer and liturgy.  Additional and informal prayer groups are left to the initiative of the students under the direction of the Dean of Students.
Student-led daily Rosary, Lauds, and Compline.
Culture of Life Society (pro-life events)
The Milk Street Society [A political discussion group]
The John Chrysostom Debate Society
Thomas More players (drama); College choir
The Belloc-Chesterton Beer Brewing Club
Intramural and pickup soccer, basketball, football, and ultimate frisbee.  Inter-collegiate competition with neighboring Catholic college.
The College has five medieval-style guilds: the St. Joseph Woodworking Guild, the St. Luke Art Guild, the St. Philip Neri Sacred Music Guild, the St. John Ogilvie Folk Music Guild, and the St. Fiacre Gardening Guild.
The College forbids any club or activities which would lead to students misunderstanding authentic Church teachings or which would place the students in the way of moral harm.   Student groups such as "Catholics for Choice" or pro-birth control student groups have never been sought by our student body, but would be denied recognition, funding, or permission to exist at Thomas More College.
Students collaborate with faculty and staff on a number of other cultural and festive activities such as banquets, talent shows, and trips to museums and concerts.
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts was founded to provide on the undergraduate level a solid education in the liberal arts, a Catholic education for students of all faiths, united in the quest for what is true, good, and beautiful. It pursues this mission by seeking wisdom and sharing it joyfully with the world.
See explanation below.
Thomas More College has a clear policy of not permitting a speaker or proposed honoree whose views are known publicly to contradict or oppose Catholic teachings.  Neither students nor faculty have ever sought to invite such a person.
Raymond Cardinal Burke has recommended the College in these terms:
"Both the liberal arts curriculum and the extracurricular activities at Thomas More College are outstanding for their fidelity to the Magisterium. The teaching at Thomas More College exemplifies the right relationship between faith and reason, which is always at the service of the truth. The faculty at the College are faithful in their teaching and example, and, therefore, are able to educate students in the way which prepares them to follow Christ, the Truth, in both their private and public life. To put it simply, Thomas More College is a gift for which all of us should be most grateful."
Total number of undergraduates: 90
Jewish: % Muslim: % Other: Less than 5%
Number of states represented: 23
Top five states: PA, NY, NH, MI, CA
Private HS: % Public HS: % Other: 20%
Most up-to-date information provided by the College
Yes (100%)
All Board Members must confirm in writing that they will defend the Catholic faith in all in tenets according to their station. See explanation.
Upon becoming a Trustee, each member must sign a document stating that he will uphold the Catholic Faith in its entirety and foster loyalty to the Magisterium.
A leading national report recently ranked the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts among the top 2 percent of all colleges and universities nationwide in educational quality.  Why?
Because the education at Thomas More genuinely teaches you how to reason, engage in academic discourse, speak with conviction, and write well. You are carefully guided through the greatest books and ideas that span the history of Western civilization and, moreover, you are prepared to engage the world with your mind, body, and soul.  A few distinctive elements of Thomas More College's program include:
No dreary textbooks: You will read the great authors themselves in their original works.
Experiencing centers of culture: You begin in New England, the birthplace of our country, and then travel to Rome—the living heart of our civilization. Scholarships allow interested students to study British history and literature in Oxford, and teaching internships exclusive to TMC students are available in Spain, Ireland, and Poland.
Ideas in Action: The wisdom of the classroom comes alive in extra-curricular activities such as naturalistic drawing, music, woodworking, icon-painting, life-changing internships, as well as journalism internships with Sophia Institute Press, Vatican Radio, and Aleteia News.
Creative Focus: Upper-level tutorials enable you and your faculty to partner in the creation of a course of study tailored to your academic interests.
Catholic: Most importantly, your entire program is joyfully undertaken in a Catholic community, committed to Truth, both natural and revealed.
All of this is offered at one of the lowest tuition rates in the country.  I invite you to visit our web site and learn more about Thomas More College.  We would be delighted to have you join us in New England.
In Christo Rege,
William Edmund Fahey, Ph.D.
Contact The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
6 Manchester St


>>>  For that list of decisions after AC Review that can be appealed, the only exclusion not allowing appeal should be approval of the proposal without substantive change with no AC Review dissent (formal objection).  i.e. everyone agreed and nothing changed so even though its in the list, no appeal in that case.
>>  And indeed if a re-review is requested, you can't now comment on unchanged material!
>>  David Singer Manager, Software Standards, Apple Inc.
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