NEW EDITOR NAMED FOR HERALD

MR RICHARD DOWDEN has been appointed editor of the Catholic Herald with effect from June 28. He has worked for the newspaper as chief reporter since joining it in November last year.
Previously Mr Dowden was assistant secretary of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. White working for the commission he took a keen interest in Northern Ireland, visiting it a number of times, and was eventually seconded to live there.
As a result he wrote a pamphlet for the Justice and Peace Commission, "Northern Ireland and the Catholic Church in Britain" which was favourahly received by the Northern Irish Bishops. He has written
an article on the relationship between Westminster and Northern Ireland on page 4 this week.
Born in 1949 at Caterham Surrey, Mr Dowden was educated at St George's, Weybridge and Bedford College, London, where he read history. Upon graduation he went as a teacher with the Volunteer Missionary Movement in Masaka, liganda.
He has visited Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia but was denied entry to Rhodesia. Ile was obliged to leave Uganda in 1972 when visitors passes were not being renewed.
Mr Dowden succeeds the Hon Gerard Noel, who continues as editorial director, Mr Noel has been editing the Catholic Herald since the autumn.