Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 73(1) February 2023
Book Review
The Beast of Bethulia Park
By S.P. Caldwell
Reviewed by Dr Pravin Thevathasan
The
author, Simon Caldwell, is one of the best known pro-life journalists in
the UK. He knows a great deal about what happens when medicine goes wrong,
when the intentional killing of innocent human lives becomes legally
accepted. We know that nations that have voluntary euthanasia end up
having involuntary euthanasia as well. Doctors are transformed into
beasts. In this book, he examines this moral issue by means of an
excellent work of fiction. Though four hundred pages long, it is
enthralling enough to be read quickly.
It is difficult to review a work of fiction without giving away too much of the plot. Briefly, then, the family of a man approaches a Catholic priest to investigate his death as they believe he has been killed by a doctor who believes that only certain people are worthy of living. Others apparently have a duty to die or be killed.
The priest is interestingly portrayed. For a start, he is called Calvin as he is a convert from Protestantism. Although he is a man of principle and faith, he is all too human (spoiler alert: he does not require the ministrations of Fr James Martin). There is also an enigmatic femme fatale. Even though she is worldly, she is portrayed as someone who ultimately knows good and evil. There is surely hope for her. We could be misled into thinking that this is a Catholic version of the of the dreadful Da Vinci Code. That is not true. Unlike Dan Brown, the author is very clear that there is truth and this truth glistens in darkness. You don't need codes to find truth. There is a real difference between good and evil.
One of the delights of this work is the way in which the author has managed to incorporate some fascinating Catholic history into it, from St Winefride's Well to St John Plessington.
I think Fr Calvin would have been better off with a bit more prudence. But he certainly has fortitude in his search for justice. He can also utter words of wisdom: "Christians can never commit evil with the intention of doing good" and "Violent reprisals are not the Christian way, martyrdom is." All in all, a very good read and a very interesting way to show us what it means to be pro-life.