All this justified euphoria about the papal visit has obscured one small item of good news: the recent conversion of author and journalist Leo McKinstry. In a moving article on September 16, the Belfast-born writer, who was raised a Protestant, relates how he was holidaying in Venice with his wife when he experienced a spiritual awakening.
In a chapel decorated with examples of Renaissance religious art, McKinstry suddenly realised that the poetry and symbolism of Catholic ritual are designed to evoke a spiritual reaction. This led him to the further realisation that “it is Christianity which gave us the moral code that built our great societies” and that it is the Church which is the bulwark defending Christian civilisation against secularism.
