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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9th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I am often asked whether my role as British Ambassador to the Holy See is to represent British Catholics. Or whether I have ex officio a particular relationship with the Catholic hierarchies of England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (at least, the Northern Ireland end). My reply is yes. I do represent the British government, […]
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28th March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In a recent blog, I noted after a visit to Northern Ireland the importance for British ambassadors abroad of understanding the country they represent. I spent last weekend in Edinburgh, at the kind invitation of the Scottish Catholic Bishops Conference. My programme included: meetings with the Catholic Bishops of Scotland, including Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien; […]
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