The decision to write The Catholics was neither inspired nor promoted by the Church of Rome. Had the commission come from the Vatican or one of its constituent hierarchies, it is unlikely that the chosen author would have been the atheist son of a defrocked priest. Although I always made clear that the book was about not for Catholics, the Church, at every level, willingly provided all the assistance for which I asked.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, supported my efforts from the start. The opening paragraph of dozens of letters, in which I asked for help, proclaimed his endorsement of my endeavours. Thanks to him, Cardinal Fernado Filioni – Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Souls – allowed me access to the Memoria Rerum, in which Propaganda Fide recorded events in Britain before the re-establishment of the English and Scottish hierarchies.
I am particularly indebted to three other sources of original material. Monsignor Philip Whitmore, Rector of the English College in Rome, agreed that I could consult the seminary’s archives. I was patiently guided through the profusion of documents by Professor Maurice Whitehead (the Schwarzenback Research Fellow) and Dr Orietta Filippini (the College archivist). I received equally essential guidance from Father Nicholas Schofield and William Johnstone, the archivists of the Westminster diocese and the Reverend Dr John Sharp the archivist of the Birmingham diocese. Many of the documents, in each of the three sources, were in Latin. They were translated for me by Father Bruce Burbidge, then Academic Tutor in the English College and now lecturer in philosophy at St Mary’s College, Oscott. Working with all of them was a continual pleasure.
David McKie, a friend for many years, read the first draft of the manuscript and made invaluable suggestions for structural changes. Dr Serenhedd James – of St Stephen’s House, Oxford – read the second draft and identified errors. Cynthia Shepherd, my invaluable PA read the third, and corrected grammar and spelling as well as making more general proposals for improvement. Mrs Shepherd also found the pictures and with her husband, the Reverend John Shepherd, created order out of the chaos which was my attempt to set out the notes on sources and references.
The offices of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for England and Wales and the Catholic Trust for England and Wales both supplied me with official reports and pointed me in the direction of other valuable sources of information. The National Museum of Ireland provided me with eye witness accounts of confessions and conversions during the Easter Rising of 1916. The London Library was, as always, indefatigable in the provision of infrequently read books – including a 1732 edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
Dr Stephen Bullivant, Director of the Benedict XVI Centre at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, provided statistics about Catholic numbers and Catholic attitudes. Brendan Walsh, the Literary Editor of The Tablet, enabled me to consult pages from the magazine which are not yet available online. So many other individuals provided help of one sort or another that it impossible to name them all. I therefore express my gratitude to representative members of two groups to which I am especially indebted. Caroline Wakefield sent me family papers which described the Ingleby martyrdom. Canon Jonathan Cotton, of St Joseph’s church in Shirebrook, searched parish records on my behalf. I was fortunate in that Poppy Hampson, the editorial director of Chatto & Windus, edited The Catholics herself. Her comments, though commendably frank, were always constructive and revealed a real understanding of the spirit in which the book was written. Mandy Greenfield was a meticulous copy editor. I owe an immense debt to them both for the improvements which they made to The Catholics. The errors and omissions which undoubtedly remain are, of course, my sole responsibility My sincere thanks are also due to Zoe McGregor and Peter Milner who, in Derbyshire and beyond, provided what the military call logistic back-up. I am grateful for their friendship as well as for their exertions.
Maggie – my literary agent as well as my wife – played a part in the writing of The Catholics which is easy to describe and impossible to overestimate. Her help, support and encouragement was essential to every stage of its composition. But then, her help, support and encouragement is essential to all that I do. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude not so much for her assistance with the book as for her existence.