by James Green
Sir Giles Connaught summed up nicely the feelings of the British government to Lady Starcross when they met in Venice that year,
‘One may not like nor trust the Vatican, Cynthia, but thank God that unlike the Americans, they’re never vulgar.’
However, as so often happens, out of evil cometh good, and the Archdiocese of Berwick and Duns College eventually evolved to serve a genuinely useful purpose.
It is not all that unusual for mature Catholic, single or widowed men, somewhat late in life, to feel they have a vocation to the priesthood. In 1852 the bishops of England and Wales created a college in Rome where they could send such men for training: the Beda, named for the Venerable Bede. However, some mature men, although feeling they had a vocation, had become used to being in charge of their own lives and baulked at the idea of becoming, as ordinary diocesan priests, completely subject to the authority of any Diocesan bishop. They required that they should be able to maintain a degree of freedom of choice over the parishes in which they would serve and, if these men were of independent means and would make no financial claim on the diocese while serving as priests, it was a requirement most Catholic bishops were ready to accept. Any man who fitted this category, on enquiring about the priesthood, was advised to make their wishes known to the Archbishop of Berwick by letter marked ‘Vocations Enquiry’. Such letters were infrequent but when they came the letter was not opened in Berwick but forwarded to Duns College where the application was considered by a minor Vatican official. If the applicant seemed suitable he would be invited, at his own expense, for initial interview. If the interview proved satisfactory the candidate was referred back to a bishop in his own national Church and allotted a placement. This placement was always of a nature to test whether the applicant could work within the Catholic community under direction.
The Church was happy to accept men who had shown in the secular world their ability to lead, but it needed to be sure they could still serve. The placement was that test. If the placement was successful then the candidate was invited back to Rome, again at his own expense, and a prolonged examination took place. There was a fee to cover the cost of the examination, a sizeable one, and it was the same for all candidates regardless of background, although latterly, for men who had lived single lives, the examination had become particularly rigorous in certain areas of their psychological makeup. Widowers found the process somewhat less intrusive. Candidates who passed the examination, before final acceptance, had to demonstrate by banker’s reference that they could meet all fees and expenses during training and then support themselves in a suitable manner during their service as a priest. It was gently pointed out that the occupational pension of, say, a minor public servant, even if supplemented by a state old-age pension, would not be considered sufficient. The funds required went some way beyond such simple income. As a result all Duns College students and alumni priests were at least modestly well off, even after the Vatican had taken its share.
The Duns Method was, to some at the Vatican, the very model of how all priestly selection and formation should be carried out. What could be better than to screen candidates so thoroughly and with such great care, and have the whole cost borne by the candidate himself, even if the end result was a refusal? And the whole process brought to the Church priests who ministered to the faithful at no cost whatsoever to the diocese they served.
Alas, such vocations were all too rare, but when a suitable candidate came along he became a student for the Catholic priesthood accredited at Rome to Duns College, although all actual training was carried out by a mixture of other Roman institutions. As a matter of cold fact Duns College had, other than its title, no physical existence other than some rather Baroque headed stationery in the minor Vatican official’s office drawer which he used to reply to vocations enquiries.
The college’s rector, when one was needed, was temporary, honorary, unpaid, and usually unwilling, seconded from the staff of one of the real religious colleges. When a Duns College student was in training the temporary rector had the occasional use of a small office in a building immensely grand on the outside and hideously inconvenient and uncomfortable on the inside. The office, cramped and situated at the top of the building in the old servants’ quarters, was used to greet the student on arrival, make him aware of domestic and academic arrangements, then meet him once a month to discuss progress or problems. When in use the office had a small sign hung on the door, Duns College Rector, there was never a name attached.
The small sign was currently hanging on the office door, announcing to anyone who passed that a Duns College student was in training in Rome. Not that anyone who passed cared one way or another …
James Green
Agents of Independence Series
Another Small Kingdom
A Union Not Blessed
The Eagle Turns
Never an Empire
Winston’s Witch
For more information about James Green
and other Accent Press titles
please visit
www.accentpress.co.uk
Published by Accent Press Ltd 2015
ISBN 9781682991374
Copyright © James Green 2015
First published by Luath Press 2009
The right of James Green to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN
