BISHOP Francis Walmsley of the Forces, the Duke of Norfolk, and David Alton MP are among Catholics who are to lend their names to an appeal for a Christian conference and holiday centre for members of the armed forces.
The Cornelius Trust, named after the first century centurion who opened his home to the apostle Peter, is launching a £600,000 appeal for the proposed centre. According to board chairman Wing Commander Dan Gleed, the centre will cater for the "very specific needs of Christian military personnel, who are today under increasing personal pressure as they move about from post to post, often away from their families."
Wing Commander Gleed stressed that there was no contradiction between being a Christian and being a member of the armed forces: "We in Britain have always been a defensive rather than an aggressive force,"