Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen has retained his English accent. Despite having lived in Scotland since 1975, when he joined the Benedictines of Pluscarden Abbey, his homilies still ring with the vowels of a man born in Hampshire (in 1952) and educated at St Paul’s and King’s College London. He has come a long way since then: last week, Bishop Gilbert was named as the president of the Scottish bishops’ conference. He told the Catholic Herald he was “touched and surprised” by the appointment, and paid tribute to the current incumbent, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, particularly for his work on safeguarding.