17th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In an exchange of letters on the eve of the Lough Erne G8 Summit, Pope Francis and Prime Minister David Cameron have shared detailed analysis of what needs to be done to tackle the economic and political challenges faced by the world today. The Prime Minister took the initiative to inform the Pope on 5 […]
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10th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last week I wrote about plans for sustaining global momentum on development and against poverty after 2015. 2015 feels a long way away. And yet in the last few days we have seen, very practically, how government, civil society and faith can come together to make a difference now. Speaking on 5 June, Pope Francis […]
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4th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Can we be the generation to eliminate extreme poverty from the earth? This is the challenge set by the Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, co-chaired at the request of the UN Secretary General by the Presidents of Liberia and Indonesia, and the Prime Minister of the United […]
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27th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What are governments for? At its most fundamental, the role of government is to keep people and communities safe. Right until the modern era, provision of security was seen as the prime function of government. It still is an essential priority, and it is no coincidence that assuring national security remains one of the over-riding […]
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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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9th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Prime Minister David Cameron and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia co-hosted an important conference on Somalia in London on 7 May. As I told Vatican Radio, the conference was held under very different circumstances from the February 2012 London Somalia conference. Shortly before then, Benedict XVI had called on the world to act in […]
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29th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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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19th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The following is a guest blog by Simona Prete, Head of Communications. “Working for the British Embassy to the Holy See, I am privileged to meet and engage with remarkable women at the Vatican and in the Catholic network. Our Ambassador Nigel Baker noted on International Women’s Day: “the vital role played by women religious […]
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12th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Foreign Ministers of the G8 met this week in London as part of the UK’s one year G8 Presidency. As their statement made clear, they addressed between them the major issues of the day: Syria, Iran, North Korea, and the Middle East Peace process. But G8 Ministers were not just fire fighting. The focus […]
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4th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
2013 sees the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s great encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), addressed “to all people of good will”. In the encyclical, Pope John called on states to reduce arms stockpiles – nuclear and conventional – and for “a general agreement … about progressive disarmament and an effective method of […]
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