Last Saturday’s collection at the Gozo Ta’ Pinu Sanctuary, during Holy Mass presided over by Bishop Mario Grech, was in aid of the restoration of Valletta’s iconic belfry of St Paul Anglican Pro-Cathedral. It was a very noble gesture from the tiny Gozo diocese that merits a rousing approval all round.

It has brought to mind a feature in a recent issue of The Tablet reporting that Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury intend leading a joint-mission to famine-stricken Southern Sudan.

Bishop Grech’s initiative in favour of our Anglican separated brethren speaks volumes and deserves to be highlighted ad perpetuam rei memoriam.

Perhaps it is worth recalling, subject to correction, what has been recorded in Victor Aquilina’s very important work The History of Strickland House way back in the late 1920s or early 1930s when an Anglican delegation intended holding a reunion at the then-Governor’s Palace and hell was let loose, with our bishops Caruana and Gonzi vociferously protesting. Those were different times indeed and we should all be thankful that they have changed… for the better.

Well done Bishop Grech.