By any standards, the news that Michael Nazir-Ali had been received into the Catholic faith is stunning. The former Church of England Bishop of Rochester, an intellectual heavyweight once considered for Canterbury itself, is used to making waves. But his plunge into the Tiber may prove his biggest splash yet.
It was certainly a fillip for English Catholicism after a bruising few years. And Dr Nazir-Ali’s conversion did not happen in isolation, either. Of course, there have been many high-profile crossings over the years, from St John Henry Newman to Tony Blair and the former Bishop of London Graham Leonard. But the latest flurry includes those who have been at the very heart of the Established Church.
