Sister Wendy Beckett praises book by London school students

Art critic and writer, Sr Wendy Becket, has praised a book written by students from three London schools. She said 'Our Priests', published by St Paul's, is: "A lovely book, burning with visual interest."

St Paul's has concluded their publishing programme for the Year for Priests with the publication of Our Priests, Compiled by Stephen Moseling, it is a selection of writings and artwork by students from three schools in the Archdiocese of Westminster: Bishop Challoner Collegiate College, St Elizabeth's Primary School and St Vincent de Paul School, in which they present their thoughts and ideas of priests.

At the launch celebration last Thursday, Bishop George Stack quoted the contribution by Aaron: "He's a good father to the church", pointing out that the name "Aaron" means "Priest". The award winning writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who provided the Foreword to the book quoted Zoe's contribution: "They wear glasses so they can see into your soul". Both agreed that the book is not only a testament to the great respect with which children regard their priests, but is a very positive contribution towards counteracting the adverse publicity the Catholic Church has received of late, especially the relationship between priests and children.

The contributors have signed a copy of the book which has been sent to Pope Benedict and carries the inscription: "Dear Holy Father, Please accept this copy of our book as a token of our love and loyalty to you, as a sign of our respect for our priests and with the assurance of our prayers in anticipation of your visit to us in September."

The book is available from all Christian bookshops or online at www.stpauls.org.uk, royalties from sales will go to St Joseph Africa Aid, a charity whose work is to fund schools in parts of Africa.