Mgr Anton Gouder’s intervention in the debate set up by The Times on the death-bed strictures of the Catholic Church by the late Cardinal Martini was outstanding.

In his calm, deliberate, didactic style, the monsignor explained how basic moral principles spelled out 2,000 years ago by Christ and his disciples are still relevant today.

John the Baptist was beheaded for condemning adultery in high places and while our permissive age may think little of it, the moral principle he championed remains unaltered.

Similar underlying principles can be said to apply in issues as abortion, assisted human reproduction, euthanasia, and so on.

Through its work in fields such as education, and the homeless, the Church is a shining beacon and witness of its ongoing loyalty to the teachings of Christ. It is doing this not by blabbing on “empty cathedrals” but by its active presence throughout the world.

How can we then say that the Church should be altogether extraneous to the State when it forms such a significant part of our philanthropic institutions, when it contributes so generously to our social cohesion, when it favours cultural development and is always there as a guide and civilising influence?

Besides being a “human institution liable to error” as stated ad nauseam by the opposite corner, the Church also contains a divine element, acknowledged even by such unlikely figures as Edward Gibbon and Oscar Wilde, and the moral principles it stands for are basic and elemental and a shining light for the way forward in peace and harmony.