The death of John Paul II and the election of his successor may have served to heal the rift that has existed for quite some time between the BBC and Catholics in the United Kingdom. Up to a couple of months ago the corporation was accused on more than one occasion of anti-Catholic bias and prejudice.

The majority of Catholics in Britain were convinced that the BBC - which has an impeccable reputation for objective reporting and total independence of government whoever holds the reins of power at Westminster was partial and almost obsessively biased against the Catholic Church and, not least its leader John Paul II. There have been several instances when the Catholic press protested against this apparent bias and readers were often urged to write in protest to the corporation. Some even declared that they would not pay the licence fee as a sign of protest.

John Paul's death and the events which followed has culminated in a dramatic change in the BBC-Catholic relationship. The corporation has been praised almost to high heaven by most Catholics, including The Catholic Herald which often crossed swords with the BBC.

In its leader of its last issue (April 29) the weekly, under the heading, "Thank You, Auntie. The BBC has served Catholics brilliantly" wrote: "The BBC has not, it is fair to say, received much praise from this newspaper over the last few years. From its strident campaign against Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor to its cartoon satire of the Vatican, the corporation seemed to ride roughshod over the sensibilities of British Catholic Community.

"But this week we must congratulate the corporation for bringing first class coverage of the papal transition into the homes of Catholics up and down the country... we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the journalists and programme makers. The live coverage of the funeral of John Paul Il and the inauguration of Benedict XVI was simply magnificent. These last weeks have confirmed and strengthened the bond between British Catholics and the See of Peter... Much of the credit for this must go to the BBC."

These feelings were also reflected in the readers' page. One correspondent wrote: "I believe that the Catholic community of this country owes a debt of gratitude to the BBC TV for its coverage of the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II and the election and inauguration Mass of Pope Benedict XVI. The coverage was full and the commentaries were generally balanced and relevant. They were helpful not only to Catholics, but I am sure also to those who do not follow or even understand our faith."

Of course one does not expect the BBC or any other station for that matter to be always positive and complimentary in its attitude towards the Pope, the Church and Catholics. No one is or should be above criticism. However this criticism should be fair, objective, shorn of prejudice. And above all inspired by a love of truth.

Ironically, what has been said about the BBC cannot be applied to the views expressed on the late great Pope and his worthy successor on the local media by certain individuals (including a cleric) who have now become notorious for their almost obsessive prejudices with regard to the Church and its leaders.