PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS, REMO CASILLI

Mgr Jozef Bart, rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, prepares for the Pope’s arrival on Sunday with the help of a nun 25

COLUMNS

Richard Leonard ‘God does not send plagues to teach us things, though we can learn from them’ / 9 Melanie McDonagh’s Notebook ‘The sins of the heart are worse than non- conformity with rules’ / 10 Peter Hennessy’s The Lion and the Unicorn ‘The corona experience, though suffused in tragedy, has shown us the very best of ourselves’ / 13

REGULARS Word from the Cloisters 15 Puzzles 15 Letters 16 The Living Spirit 17

CONTENTS 25 APRIL 2020 // VOL 274 NO. 9349

FEATURES

4 / A school on the front line A head teacher of a Catholic primary describes how the closure of schools has

changed the lives of the children, staff and parents / BY KAREN CUNNINGHAM

5 / ‘We have rediscovered teaching as a vocation’

The crisis has brought out the best in teachers, parents

and children / BY LAUREN NICHOLSON-WARD 6 / To Mrs Whitaker, with love A moral philosopher remembers his old English teacher, ‘who worked in what is

au fond a profoundly sacrificial profession’ / BY JAMES MUMFORD

7 / Could the virus bring down Putin? An experienced Kremlin-watcher argues that Vladimir Putin’s grip on power is looser than ever because of the threat to the country posed by Covid-19 / BY MARY DEJEVSKY

8 / ‘Be still and know that I am God’ The leader of the Cistercian order reflects that this period of anxiety might bring a

new awareness of the presence of God / BY MAURO-GIUSEPPE LEPORI

12 / Sidestepping the destroying angel Is the coronavirus pandemic divine retribution? Or is it a moment of darkness that might lead to strengthening the bonds that bind us together? / BY CATHLEEN KAVENY

14 / A window into God’s love The sermon given by the former Master of the Dominicans at the Requiem Mass for his friend David Sanders / BY TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE

NEWS

24 / The Church in the World / News briefing 25 / Pandemic spurs talks on church reform, says Kasper

27 / View from Rome 28 / News from Britain and Ireland / News briefing

29 / Chaplains at work in ‘field’ hospitals

COVER PHOTO: PA/TASS, YURI SMITYUK

BOOKS / PAGE 18

Michael Banner Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times JONATHAN SACKS Rachel Kelly The Well Gardened Mind SUE STUART-SMITH William Joll The Bass Rock EVIE WYLD

ARTS / PAGE 20

Interview Michael Craig-Martin JOANNA MOORHEAD Radio Heart and Soul: Faith in Lockdown France D.J. TAYLOR Music The Strokes; Fiona Apple; Thundercat BRIAN MORTON Television Ride Upon the Storm LUCY LETHBRIDGE

25 APRIL 2020 | THE TABLET | 3