In the drumbeat of noise surrounding last week’s general election it has been hard to find the time for quiet reflection. Like many others in politics, my first response to the result was tempered by the sadness that some close friends in Parliament had lost their seats.

The Labour MP Rob Flello was not only gentle and compassionate but lived and championed Catholic social teaching with the vitality and grace of someone who was discovering it anew each day – and finding it more convincing each time.