Christmas came early in The Guardian this week and it was all peace to people of goodwill. Indeed the paper resembled something from a counterfactual novel, like Kingsley Amis’ The Alteration, in which the Reformation had never taken place. Archbishop Nichols was above the title on the front, and on page 4, and also on page 28 (denouncing government rules that split families by refusing entry to spouses of British nationals).“Support for family life is a cornerstone of British society and, in fact, of the Catholic tradition,” he wrote on the leader page. “This victimisation of a group of British citizens is an indication of how far we have moved from these principles and values.” For one moment, spotting a headline “Westminster discredited”, I fea