29th July 2015
“How do you define an extremist?”. I once asked this question of a wise friend of mine, who was always critical of imprecise language used by journalists to describe people who held different views. “An extremist”, he said, “is someone incapable of seeing the good in the other. He must therefore dedicate himself to attacking […]
3rd September 2014
There has, rightly, been enormous concern expressed across the world about the recent turn of events in Northern Iraq. The expulsion of the Christian communities from Mosul and the 13 villages of the Plain of Nineveh – an historic heartland inhabited by Christians from the earliest days, well known from, amongst other sources, the story […]
7th May 2014
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, […]
29th April 2013
As an Embassy, we very often receive visits from individuals or delegations from Britain who are coming to the Holy See, or passing through Rome, and whose work is relevant to our own global priorities. One of the pleasures of being ambassador here is the sheer variety of such encounters, reflecting the extensive waterfront that […]
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21st December 2010
I am proud and a little relieved that my wife completed her trek in the footsteps of Gandhi. I am proud and a little relieved to write after my last blog that my wife completed her 350 kilometre trek in the footsteps of Gandhi’s famous Salt March of 1930 at the beginning of December. The […]
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