Lord Patten of Barnes takes on Sir Humphrey of the Vatican

There might, Lord (Chris) Patten of Barnes wryly admitted to Edward Stourton on the Radio 4 Sunday programme yesterday morning, be an element of Mgr Humphrey in the Vatican’s response to his report recommending bold reforms to the way the Church takes its message to the world.

The Pope’s cardinal-advisers listened politely, made positive noises, warmly thanked Patten and his committee for their efforts – and then announced that a second committee of experts and advisers would be established to consider the feasibility of his recommendations.The Roman curia’s mastery of allowing sensible but unwelcome suggestions to become lost in long grass recalls an episode of BBC's Yes, Minister.

So, what’s next?

The former Tory cabinet minister and chairman of the BBC is in no mood to allow his report to be shelved. He seemed relaxed and nonchalant in comfortable brown suede shoes and a slightly crumpled pin-stripe suit when he used the CCN World Communications Day lecture in London last week to reveal the key points of his report.

But there was urgency in Patten’s voice when he answered questions afterwards. The reforms required, he said, removing his glasses and jabbing the air, were “blindingly obvious”. Eighty-five per cent of the Vatican’s communication budget funds a radio station and a newspaper. “My kids are pretty well-informed,” Patten said, “but they hardly ever read a newspaper.”

And, as Patten also pointed out, there are fabulous opportunities to flog some great material that no one seems to be interested in exploiting. The current messy tangle of content creators and editorial lines needs to be integrated and modernised, and resources and expertise matched to the way information, news and comment actually reaches people across the globe these days.

But while the shape and direction of the reforms might be obvious, making change happen is the tricky bit. The Vatican is a famously reluctant re-arranger of its furniture.

Patten seems to be driven by something deeper than a desire to see a report he’s put a bit of work into translated into action. “I’m a bit old to get into hero worship,” he told Stourton, “but Pope Francis is probably the most remarkable person I’ve ever met.” 

If you are a senior figure on a newspaper or a radio station, you are likely to want to defend your patch, and the best way to keep the change agents at bay is to put around the idea to your staff that change will only be for the worse. Cue Patten’s unveiling of the substance of his report last week, with its masterstoke – a commitment to preserving the jobs of current staffers. The copy-editors and translators and sound engineers needn’t worry about being made redundant. On the contrary, there may be fresh opportunities to retrain for work in media with growing rather than shrinking traffic.

Patten’s move will help bring the foot-soldiers on side and make it harder for the generals to dawdle and dissemble. Mgr Humphrey may be a virtuoso of graceful immobility. But Lord Patten, who has dealt with the Chinese, the Northern Irish police service and Mrs Thatcher, is determined to give him a good run for his money.

Brendan Walsh is the literary editor of The Tablet

Above: Yes, Minister's virtuoso of graceful immobility, Sir Humphrey

Above: Lord Pattern giving his Communication's Day speech. Photo: Catholic Church (England and Wales)