Shirley heads New Year honours list

by Murray White
VETERAN politician and Catholic Shirley Williams has become a Life Peer in the Queen's New Year's Honours. Hers was the only peerage in what seems to be a scaling down of such annual awards.
Mrs Williams heads an impressive list of Catholics to be honoured by the Queen for their services to the community and to diplomatic work, Others recognised include a novelist, a Notting Hill priest and a member of staff of the British Embassy to the Vatican.
One of the "Gang of Four", the founding members of the Social Democratic Party in the early 1980s, Mrs Williams who is now a lecturer at Harvard University, becomes a Baroness and will take a seat in the House of Lords.
Prime Minister John Major has promised a reform of the honours system that may see the end of automatic knighthoods for civil servants and backbenchers.
Popular novelist Catherine Cookson said she was "humbled" to be awarded the DBE. Dame Catherine, as she will now be known. was given the award for services to charity, including some Catholic, in her native north-east of England. CBEs are awarded to two Catholics in the education world, Fr Freddie Copleston, Professor Emeritus of the History of Philosophy and Heythrop College and Dominic Bruce, a member of the governing body at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, both in London.
Gerald Coghlan, the Chairman of West Birmingham District Health Authority, also receives a CBE. Mr Coghlan was made a Papal Knight in 1980 and is chairman of governors at Newman College, Birmingham.
Fr Michael Hollings, parish priest of St Mary of the Angels in London's Notting Hill receives an MBE for his service to the community in the area. He is chairman of the Portobello Trust.
Also getting MBEs are William Booth, Chairman of Wythenshawe Catholic Handicapped Fellowship in Manchester, for service to the disabled, and Marigold Johnson, executive secretary of the British Irish Association and wife of Catholic writer Paul Johnson, for her services to Anglo-Irish relations.
Awards in the diplomatic service go to Patrick McCormick, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the Holy See, and Michael Packenham, British Ambassador to Luxembourg.
Honours going to Catholics in the Army include a KBE to Lt General Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, former Scots Guard and brother of Cabinet Office member Sarah Hogg. OBEs go to Lt Cols Tweedie Brown (Royal Engineers). Ben Lyon (AG Corps) and Sue Reynolds (AG Corps).
Major Michael Lithgow (Royal Signals) and IA McGowan (Scots Guards) receive MBEs.
Former Director of the Council of Christians and Jews and MP, Michael Latham, an Anglican, recieves a Knighthood.