Caroline Farrow - Catholic journalist and commentator

Where are the adults?

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 06:00:57 -0700

This week, a video emerged of a young Scottish girl brandishing what appeared to be a machete in one hand and a hatchet or axe in the other, while screaming “get away from me, you paedo, you kiddy-basher” at the man who was filming her.

Naturally, the reaction was one of outrage and horror. There was something deeply incongruent and jarring about a tiny wee girl, who did not even look as though she had reached puberty, wielding such terrifying weapons.

When the video inevitably popped up in my feed, together with the caption that this poor child had been fending off a sex attacker and was now the one unfairly under arrest, my natural inclination was to repost and express similar horror.

Fortunately, years of social media dopamine have not yet entirely stripped me of curiosity and critical thinking, and so I decided to take a pass on feeding the algorithm and jumping on the righteous outrage train.

Why?

Firstly, there can be no doubt that the child in the video was deeply distressed, terrified, and dysregulated. As the parent of autistic children, I have witnessed similar meltdowns, though admittedly not with lethal weapons.

When a child is in such an agitated state, there can be no reasoning with them. While it would be all too easy to believe the accepted narrative that she was terrified as a result of having been the victim of previous gang rapes, totally freaked out by the attentions of this man, and bravely sticking up for her sister, it is just as plausible that the situation had tapped into a different trauma.

By way of contrast, one of my children was asked to leave their autistic support group because they had a similar violent meltdown, one that involved throwing objects around the room and then attempting to climb out of the first-floor window, because they were told they were not allowed to use their scooter.

That may have...Read More

Alfie Evans - a year on

Tue, 28 May 2019 11:43:08 -0700

Published on my previous blog.

https://carolinefarrow.com/2019/05/28/alfie-evans-a-year-on/

A concerning precedent

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 12:09:18 -0800

I was asked by the Daily Express to make a statement on the ruling of a High Court judge that a boy of 15 who fathered a child does not need to be informed of the child's existence or that the child has been adopted.

It is disturbing that information has been withheld from a young man, on the basis of what he might do. It is true that his background is troubled and concerning that he is said to have committed a number of assaults and carry a knife. (Information which was not disclosed to me when I was asked to comment).

Nonetheless, if the young man is able to consent to sex and able to father a child, then he ought to be informed that actions have consequences, even if he and his family are incapable of raising the child. It may be that the existence of a child gives him an opportunity to reform, it may be that social services rule that his family are not suitable prospective carers of the child, it may be that the father would like an opportunity to be involved in his child's life, but these are judgements which ought to be made separately to whether or not he has the right to know. In direct contravention of all principles of basic justice, a boy has effectively been found guilty of a crime he is yet to commit and denied his human rights, without any chance for him to defend himself.

While the mother's distress is understandable, her life has already been irreparably changed by what has happened to her. Keeping her pregnancy and the subsequent adoption of the baby secret smacks of the attitude employed by the notorious Mother and Baby homes of the last century. The young woman has done nothing to be ashamed of and is to be commended for attempting to do what is in her child's best interests, at great personal cost to herself.

Here is my quote in full:

"I am extremely uneasy with this decision, which smacks of state overreach. Just as...Read More

Reclaiming Advent

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 01:53:52 -0800

It's really difficult to maintain that sense of preparation and anticipation once December 1st rolls around, because for the the rest of the world, Christmas has already started and in fact for some people, the first day of the month is already a bit late to be thinking about putting the decorations up.

I was greeted with looks of incomprehension and pity during a recent conversation with fellow parents, who were discussing getting ready for Christmas and how the decorations had been dusted down from the attic, during the first weekend in December, when I explained that in our house, the tree does not go up until Christmas Eve, which marks the official beginning of Christmas.

As a concession we might now buy the tree a few days earlier, in order to ensure that we are able to get a one, but it remains undecorated until the morning of Christmas Eve.

Ah, it's a shame for the children, remark some, but my sense is that teaching children to wait is a good life-lesson and the joy of decorating the house is increased by the sense of desperation. It's a physical sign that Christmas is actually finally here, after weeks of waiting.

While the rest of the world are sick of the sight of decorations and mince pies on Boxing Day, our family is just getting into the swing of things with a full eight days of partying and indulgence, while everyone else looks out their Davina fitness DVD and Slimming World cookbook.

It is extremely hard to adhere to that sense of waiting as the secular world prematurely begins their celebrations. As I write, I'm in the middle of week of school nativity plays, Christmas carol concerts, official class parents' Christmas nights out and parties, dictated to by school terms and office working hours. My eye was caught by luxury Advent calendars the other day, containing miniature bottles of my favourite champagne, or pampering grooming products, priced at around £100 apiece. It was a reminder of how in a materialistic...Read More

Make ready

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 15:36:50 -0800

I was writing my weekly column for the Catholic Universe last night and musing upon how quickly Advent has come up on us. It only feels like yesterday that I was chucking away the collapsed mush of hollowed-out pumpkin lanterns, which adorned our front doorstep for much longer than they should have done. In fact I'm still getting used to having to put on a coat every time I go outside following what seemed like an eternity of balmy summer sunshine, when October was unseasonably warm.

And now, suddenly here we are in Advent, and as per usual I haven't even begun any kind of physical preparation for Christmas. Chiding myself for my customary disorganisation, it struck me that this is a timely reminder of what Advent is all about. We aren't only joyfully anticipating the arrival of the baby Jesus in the manger, but the second coming of Christ at the end of time. I shouldn't have been surprised by the realisation that here we are in Advent, it's not as if the season or its timing is a surprise, but I was so caught up in other, worldly and mundane matters that I almost forgot that I needed to make ready. It was a reminder to keep the lamps lit, lest He should come, as He says he will, like a thief in the night.