Scottish Catholic Observer

Nigel Baker, the newly appointed UK ambassador to the Holy See, has become the first person in his post to blog his experience.

In his first post, Ambassador Baker (above) said he believed that it was time for the embassy to ‘be engaging properly through the new media in an interactive way with what is, I know, a wide and interested audience out there.’

The ambassador reported that that when he had presented his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI, he spoke with the Holy Father ‘on many aspects of our relationship, including the importance of values in international affairs.’

“There is a very broad mutual agenda, flowing from the visit of the Pope to the United Kingdom last September, and the excellent work of this Embassy under my predecessor,” he said. “We need to talk to and engage with each other above all because Her Majesty’s Government and the Holy See both have global concerns and interests, from disarmament to development, climate change to conflict resolution.

“As with any diplomatic relationship, we will not always agree. But there are many areas where we can work closely together, and it should be mutually beneficial to do so.

“I hope that this blog will provide a window on what this embassy, and this Ambassador, does and why we do it. I will do my best to respond to ideas and queries, and would be delighted to receive thoughts on how to make this more useful and more interesting to readers.”

—To read the ambassador’s blog visit http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/bakerenglish