14th October 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
All the media focus here at the Vatican at the moment is on the cut and thrust of debate at the Synod of Bishops, meeting on the issue of the family. Amidst the coverage of differences between bishops, proposals on pastoral practice and doctrine, and the views of the Pope, one important dimension has been […]
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8th August 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the Holy See On 14-18 August Pope Francis will make his first visit to Asia, to attend the Asian Youth Day in Daejon, South Korea. He will also beatify 124 martyrs, killed in the eighteenth century for […]
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7th May 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Old-fashioned stereotypes, especially when embedded in media narratives, die very hard. One of those is that faith-based institutions, especially Christian churches, have little to say to young people in our Western secularised world. I have to say that this has not been my experience in nearly three years accredited to the Holy See. Of course, […]
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27th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Earlier this week, the Senior Minister of State and Minister for Faith, Baroness Warsi, held the first meeting of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Advisory Group on freedom of religion and belief. The group usefully supplements the FCO’s regular dialogues with religious leaders by bringing together lay experts from a wide spectrum of faiths […]
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19th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Baroness Warsi is the first ever British Minister for Faith in a British government. She is also Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In both roles, at home and abroad, and with the strong support of the Prime Minister, she has made religious freedom a personal priority: promoting and protecting people’s […]
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31st October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, Zion Evrony, recently took the initiative to invite diplomatic colleagues and officials of the Holy See to the Great Synagogue of Rome. The synagogue is one of the largest in Europe, built in 1870 between the Tiber and the old Jewish ghetto. The Chief Rabbi of Rome, Dr […]
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8th August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission. Pope Francis has signed the Holy See’s traditional message to the Muslims around the world who are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. The theme of his message is Promoting Mutual Respect through Education, and in it the Pope calls […]
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26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The European Union – as an institution, and as individual member states – is often criticised for not doing enough to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief around the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is very clear on the issue, we are often reminded. And yet, the critics say, amongst the […]
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15th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What is it that leading British Sikhs, Jews, Hindus, Roman Catholics, Copts, Buddhists, Presbyterians and Muslims have in common? Too often, we hear about the differences between faiths. But this week we saw an extraordinary coming together for a great cause. On 14 May, Foreign Office Minister Alastair Burt received in person an open letter […]
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27th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
As Rome prepares for Easter – a time that Christians have always considered to be one of renewal and rebirth – there is a palpable feel across the global religious map of a recharging of batteries, a resurgence of hope, and new leaders reinvigorating the faithful of different religious traditions. We have a new Pope, […]
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