He’s called Francis Campbell. He’s 36 years old, a career diplomat from Northern Ireland. He’s the new ambassador of Great Britain to the Holy See. He’s also Catholic: a not negligible detail. In fact he’s the first Catholic since the time of Henry VIII to represent the British government at the Holy See. It is an appointment, according to the British press, that breaks the unwritten rule that the ambassador to the See of Peter cannot be Catholic. Satisfaction has been expressed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster, according to whom “the appointment puts an end to the idea that this post should be reserved for non-Catholics”. An Apostolic Nuncio to represent the Holy See in Great Britain has been present since 1938. Francis Campbell, a native of Northern Ireland, is considered a man close to British premier Tony Blair. It is not usual to see an Irishman reach the rank of British ambassador. The choice cannot but please the Catholics of Northern Ireland, who continue to hope in a visit by the Pope. Relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See were re-established in 1914 after an interruption lasting 350 years. But complete diplomatic relations were only restored in 1982, shortly before John Paul II’s visit to the island.
