The genuine warmth evident in the tributes to Cardinal Basil Hume tells us much about the nature of the man. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales was the quintessential English gentleman - tolerant, dignified and unassuming. Typically, he preferred to be addressed as Father Basil rather than Your Eminence. But this personal humility belied his immense contribution to the Catholic Church in Britain since his appointment as Archbishop of Westminster twenty-three years ago. At a time when Catholics could have been so easily marginalised, his leadership succeeded in bringing them into the mainstream of English life. His other towering achievement was to maintain the essential unity and common purpose of the Catholic Church in England at a time when it could have been riven by the struggle between those anxious to pick up the baton after Vatican II and those still hankering after the old certainties. Through a very turbulent period in the Church, he helped to safeguard it from the internecine warfare evident in so many other countries. He was unswerving in his loyalty to Rome but he was also open-minded towards those who were more critical and, indeed, he was unafraid to challenge the orthodox line when it made good sense.
His ecumenical commitment was evident from the day of his ordination as a bishop when he was joined by Anglican colleagues at Westminster Abbey. The Church of England's vote for the ordination of women in 1992, which saw thousands of Anglo-Catholics turning to Rome, presented a formidable test of his leadership. Cardinal Hume accepted married clergymen into the otherwise celibate priesthood but he was, at all times, mindful of the interests of the Anglican Church. Cardinal Hume was greatly influenced by his own personal experiences, including encounters with the poor, hungry and oppressed. He was greatly moved by the sight of homeless people on the streets of London and worked tirelessly to relieve their suffering. During his visit to Ethiopia at the time of the famine in 1984, he did a great deal to alleviate the plight of those affected. He was a relentless campaigner for justice; his meeting with Guiseppe Conlon in 1978, and his belief in his innocence, was the catalyst for a 13-year campaign against other miscarriages of justice. His pivotal role in mustering support for the Guildford Four and the Maguire family has been widely acknowledged. Appropriately, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, paid tribute to Cardinal Hume's "promotion of, and support for, peace in Northern Ireland". Since his death, many commentators have paid tribute to his diplomatic skills. In truth, Cardinal Hume succeeded, both within the Church and beyond it, by force of his immense personal integrity and human decency. The tribute paid by the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, bears repetition: "He was goodness personified, a truly holy man with extraordinary humility and an unswerving dedication. He did much to inspire people of all faiths and none."