Individualism has its limits. Though he insisted his speech had no headlines, that in a nutshell is what Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster told a gathering of priests in Birmingham, his former archdiocese, this week. They need to work on their connectedness, their sense of fraternity with one another and with their bishop. This is how they would ensure that there is hope for the future.

Any realistic strategy for the continued health and happiness of the Catholic community – in England and Wales or anywhere else – has to start with the past and present. So it was logical that the cardinal began a review of the future state of the Catholic priesthood by looking backwards. It is a proud story that deserves to be better known, from post-Reformation martyrdoms to the priestly ministries dedicated to the service of the nineteenth-century urban poor in a hostile Victorian climate.