1st March 2012
St David, or Dewi, is the patron saint of Wales. The arrival of his feast day – 1 March – always gives a sense, at least in the United Kingdom, that Spring is now definitely on the way. But it is also a useful reminder to non-Welsh of the importance of Wales to the United […]
22nd February 2012
The senior leadership of the global Catholic Church has been in Rome over the last week to celebrate the latest Consistory of Cardinals, at which 22 new Cardinals were installed. These included the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamalay of the Syr-Malabars, in Kerala in India, His Eminence George Alencherry. Our congratulations go out to him and […]
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16th February 2012
A very intensive 24 hours this week saw the strongest ever delegation of ministers from the United Kingdom – 7 in total, including 4 Cabinet Ministers – paying an official visit to the Holy See. As Baroness Warsi, the leader of the delegation, noted in her speech at the official dinner hosted by Secretary of […]
6th February 2012
6 February saw the start of the celebrations of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which will culminate this summer in a spectacular pageant on the River Thames in June. We can expect parties and fireworks, ceremonial and reflection on an extraordinary life devoted to public service. The Olympic and Paralympic Games in July and August will […]
31st January 2012
It is incumbent upon British ambassadors to understand the country that they serve. Which is why I spent much of last week in Northern Ireland, following similar “pastoral” tours in England and Scotland (Wales is still to do). I also took the opportunity to visit Dublin, given the fact that both the Roman Catholic and […]
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24th January 2012
It was interesting to see Pope Benedict speaking today about communications, in advance of the 20 May World Day of Social Communications. We are all in the business. From bloggers like me, to Foreign Ministries striving to get their “angle” across, from the frenzied activity of Twitter, to the simple conversation on the mobile. We […]
18th January 2012
Understanding religion is fundamental to our comprehension of the world in which we live. It is especially necessary for diplomats as they seek to apply their nation’s foreign policy around the world. Globally – though Western Europe is perhaps an exception – the trend, to put it crudely, is towards “more” religion rather than less. […]
11th January 2012
The address of Pope Benedict XVI to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, at the start of each year, is always an opportunity to look ahead at the foreign policy challenges of coming months. 2012 was no exception, and I was struck by just how much of his Holiness’s wide ranging speech dovetailed […]
22nd December 2011
2011 has seen a year of activity commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This Bible, possibly the single most influential text in the English language, was a great achievement of its day. But it also had lasting impact. In a speech last weekend to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister David Cameron said […]
20th December 2011
Important developments at the UN in New York, where “humanitarian week” has ended with the annual replenishment conference for the UN Central Emergency Fund (CERF). This is a vital fund, established with UK encouragement in 2006 by the General Assembly, to provide timely and reliable funding for countries affected by rapid and unexpected emergencies, as […]