Baroness Caroline Cox visited St Benedict’s School just before the half-term holiday to deliver the inaugural Orchard Lecture to a rapt audience of Sixth-Form students and staff. Her presentation, 'The Pain and The Passion: The Privilege of Making a Difference,' straddled the worlds of politics and medical and humanitarian aid. All who listened were moved by her courage and insatiable urge to put her Christian faith into action.
In her lecture, she invited the audience to 'travel' with her NGO HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) to meet inspirational partners on the front-lines of faith and freedom around the world, including Sudan, South Sudan, Armenia, Nigeria and Burma. Her work has taken her to countless conflict zones, allowing her to obtain first hand evidence of the human rights violations and humanitarian needs that exist. Baroness Cox is a frequent contributor to Lords debates on Sudan, India, Nigeria, Uganda, and (Myanmar) Burma.
Daniel Soars, who organised the lecture and is a Religious Studies teacher, said: ‘St Benedict’s students and staff were privileged to spend an evening with someone who has made it her life’s mission to provide ‘a voice for the voiceless’ – someone whom many regard as no less than a contemporary prophet. Baroness Cox spoke with genuine passion and humility, always crediting any achievements or breakthroughs to the many local people she introduced in her talk.’
As part of a drive to stimulate faith-based reflection and to raise awareness of the importance of Theology as an academic discipline, the Religious Studies Department at St Benedict’s School put on a series of lectures from eminent speakers in academe and public life. They are named in honour of Dom Bernard Orchard, a former monk of Ealing Abbey and biblical scholar. Speakers included Fr Ashley Beck on ‘Benedict XV and World War 1’ and Lord David Alton on ‘Paying a Price for Faith’.
Caroline Cox is a crossbench member of the House of Lords and founder of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust. A nurse by training, Baroness Cox is also an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
