On 12 July 2007, HM Ambassador to the Holy See Francis Campbell delivered a talk at the British Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, Amport House, Andover.

Looking both at historical and contemporary perspectives, Mr. Campbell explained why the Holy See is a valuable, indeed vital part of the UK's diplomatic network: "The Holy See attracts attention in a way that few other entities can capture the global imagination and it enjoys respect for its tradition of neutrality and equality to all."

In the first part of his address, Ambassador Campbell outlined "what was probably the most interesting incident in the last 100 years of Holy See-UK relations. It dates to the period 1939-40 and was known as the German Conspiracy. This one case illustrates to me most clearly the Holy See displaying all four characteristics": global and local, neutral and respected, state and religion, and global opinion former. 

The contemporary approach highlights some of the joint work on international development, inter-faith and climate change. "But those examples are replicated many times over in ecumenism, conflict prevention, migration, disarmament and human rights not to mention the value of the Holy See as a global listening post."

Mr. Campbell hoped that "when the next generation in diplomacy comes to ask about the worth of an embassy to the Holy See – they will remember Pius and his risk-taking with the German plotters, and John Paul’s bravery in the struggle against Communism and Benedict’s fight against poverty."

Notes for Editors

1.  Read the full text of Ambassador Campbell's speech.

2. The full text of the talk is available in PDF format (97KB).  To open a PDF file, you will need a PDF reader such as the free Adobe application Acrobat Reader.

 

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