Rome, Italy, Aug 6, 2010 / 09:30 am
The greatest moment in the tenure of the U.K. ambassador to the Holy See was the Pope's contribution to a British government-sponsored initiative to eradicate diseases in developing countries.
Ambassador Francis Campbell will be leaving in January for another overseas appointment, this time "further to the East," he said, noting that the exact destination will be made public "shortly." Reflecting on tenure in Rome which began in Dec. 2005 when he was just 35 years old, he said that the moment that stands out in his mind from his time as ambassador took place less than a year after his appointment.
If he had to pick a moment that rises above all of the great moments from the last five years, he commented, he would choose Pope Benedict's purchase of the immunization bond in Nov. 2006.
"He purchased the first bond for immunization and that scheme raised 1.6 billion U.S. dollars," the ambassador recalled.