by Chris Robling
Sometime last week a disgusting memo purporting to envision the 'type of Papal visit the foreign office would like to see' circulated with official documents related to the announced visit of Pope Benedict to the United Kingdom in September.
The ensuing row almost swamped the visit, the first such in 28 years. But, as of 6 p.m. Monday April 26, a Vatican spokesman called the matter "closed," and said the trip would go on.
The memo was written by a 23-year old Oxford graduate from a privileged background. For reasons known best to Her Majesty's Government, he is still employed. Below is my note to Mr Steven Mulvain, from today:
Mr. Mulvain:
You are not some 23-year old East London slacker whose writings don’t matter.
You are an Oxford graduate, highly capable and as a recruit to the Foreign Office you once showed promise to someone.
By these standards, you have no excuse for the shame you have brought on Her Majesty’s Government.
And you have repaid whoever recommended hiring you quite cheaply.
To have written such a note in your capacity is unfathomable. To have suggested to the “more senior civil servant, who has now been 'transferred to other duties',” according to the Telegraph, that it be forwarded is also apalling. Someone should pay with his job, presumably him. But, I suspect your prospects have now been sharply limited as well.
Your note is an anguished return to a sense of bigotry, prejudice, boorishness and exclusion. None of Tony Blair’s and Gordon Brown’s desires for “diversity” is in it.
Perhaps tolerance was not taught during your years at Oxford. One also wonders about respect, let alone its founding history under the Roman church. I suggest you seek out Prof. Fr. Diarmaid MacCulloch, or at least read his works, to learn a bit about the issues into which you blundered.
Also, please ask yourself squarely if you would have in a million years thought to write something about a head-of-state such as Hugo Chavez or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I do not know what your answer would be, but if it is truthfully “no,” then I hope you will have the courage to pursue why that is the case.
Sincerely,
Christopher FH. Robling
