In August this year, The Tablet’s editor embarked on a break from the paper to undertake a period of study, but scarcely had her sabbatical started than her plans were overtaken by a shocking diagnosis “Is this your idea of a joke?” I asked. It was 4 August, the day that I was starting my six-month sabbatical from The Tablet. I’d been editor for 10 years, and readers, it’s been quite a time. Three Popes, the death of John Paul II, the stunning resignation of Benedict, the unexpected Francis, a papal state visit to Britain, and all the myriad ebbs and flows of the Church, politics, current affairs, theology and much else besides. I needed refreshing, a change of scene to think, and I was very tired. But perhaps that fatigue wasn’t just down to the press