France’s decision to ban the wearing of the burka in public by law symbolises the difficulty of reconciling rights when they conflict. This lies at the heart of the dilemma of multicultural societies and applies not just to France but to Great Britain and elsewhere. They do not wish to be culturally imperialist by treating ethnic minorities with disrespect, but nor do they want to set aside their own core values, such as opposition to the exploitation and abuse of women. A society like Britain which insists that girls from very conservative Muslim families should nevertheless be sent to school to receive a good education has already taken sides in that debate. The real issue is about proportionality.

Not many French Muslim women wear the full body and face veil with just a slit for the eyes. The number has been put as low as 2,000, mainly in Paris, and a substantial number of them, it is said, are converts to Islam. That suggests that, in some cases at least, the burka is a conscious choice. Advocates of the burka claim it is required by Islam, a fact visibly disputed by the vast majority of Muslim women who wear, for the sake of female modesty, a headscarf if they choose to cover their head at all. Critics of the burka say it represents an extreme demonstration of the control of women by men, who make them hide their appearance, their identity and almost their very existence from strangers. That is very depersonalising. Part of the critics’ concern is about the growth of a fundamentalist reading of Islam, of which the burka is a symptom. That is taken to be a threat to French values, not just the civic doctrine of laïcité but to liberté, égalité and fraternité – the very mottos of the Republic.

Perhaps the outside world should hesitate to sit in judgement on the French in such matters, for the balance of forces needed to uphold social cohesion are very different from one society to the next. Sufficient ...

John Henry Newman’s motto “Heart speaks unto heart” is emerging as the unifying idea of Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to Great Britain in September. If that helps it to succeed, the Catholic community will have Newman to thank, which is as it should be. Pope Benedict has always been fascinated by him. The chance to preside over his beatifi­cation ceremony in person in Newman’s native ...

Among the greatest achievements of the Catholic Church in Britain, since the restoration of first the English and Welsh hierarchy in 1850 and the Scottish in 1878, has been the creation of its successful schools. They have remained popular with parents and have played a considerable role in transforming what was a poor, predominantly working-class and migrant community into a well-educated minority with its fair share ...

The Tories’ main criticism of hung parliaments and coalition governments during the recent election was that the need for compromise makes them timid. Yet the emergency Budget presented by the Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, this week is as bold as any in living memory. Even those expecting an austerity Budget were taken aback by how far he went. The Right was delighted; the Left dismayed ...

Lord Saville’s comprehensive report into the events in Londonderry on 30 January 1972 has come 38 years too late. Had the Bloody Sunday massacre of 13 innocent civil-rights demonstrators by members of the Parachute Regiment been properly investigated immediately afterwards, decades of strife could have been averted. Bloody Sunday became by far the IRA’s best recruiting officer – not just the day itself, ...