Table Of ContentT
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‘Social capital is the glue that holds communities together and it is a vital
CONTRIBUTORS commodity in short supply. This book offers welcome recognition of those M ’In this increasingly uncertain society of post truth
in which we live, these lectures and discussions
public servants and private citizens who recognize a moral imperative in O
Claire Foster-Gilbert working to make our society stronger.’ are thought-provoking and timely. Congratulations
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–Mark Easton, BBC News Home Editor to the Westminster Abbey Institute.‘
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William Hague
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L –Baroness Butler-Sloss, Member
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John Hall H HH of the House of Lords
One year on from the Brexit referendum, moral courage is needed more
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than ever. Here to debate and elucidate the ethical challenges of their work di E
Peter Hennessy is a stellar cast of contributors from politics, public service and religion: ted A TT ’Both a challenging and caring read for leaders
b and managers everywhere.‘
Claire Foster-Gilbert, William Hague, John Hall, Peter Hennessy, Stephen y R
Stephen Lamport C
Lamport, Mary McAleese, Andrew Tremlett, Vernon White and Rowan la T HHeeaarrtt –Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner
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Mary McAleese Williams. In a wide-ranging collection of constructive conversations and re F O of the Metropolitan Police until 2017
essays brought together by the Westminster Abbey Institute, they explore o
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Andrew Tremlett the urgency and the practicalities of keeping the moral heart of public er
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Vernon White lb U
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Rowan Williams Claire Foster-Gilbertis Director of the Westminster Abbey Institute for L
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ethics in public life. She has been called a ‘quiet public intellectual’. C
SSEERRVVIICCEE
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C Edited by Claire Foster-Gilbert
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Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
www.jkp.com
Cover design: Black Dog Design
Cover design: Black Dog Design
‘We live in an age when noisy moralism is everywhere, and
the news and social media have invaded the pulpit. Quiet
reflection on moral truth, however, and the noble sobriety of
public administration, have become under-valued virtues. All
power to a book like this in redressing that imbalance.’
– Matthew Parris, Times Columnist and Author
‘Social capital is the glue that holds communities together
and it is a vital commodity in short supply. This book offers
welcome recognition of those public servants and private
citizens who recognise a moral imperative in working to
make our society stronger.’
– Mark Easton, BBC News Home Editor
‘The Westminster Abbey Institute helps the people who
wander the four corners of Parliament Square where church,
law and politics live together. And so does this book. Yet it can
help more than this small community. It is both a challenging
and caring read for leaders and managers everywhere.
It avoids the easy temptation to preach, but offers a clear
direction for those who will listen.’
– Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner of the
Metropolitan Police until 2017
‘Meet the better angels of your nature. Find out what “public
service” really means.’
– Lord Saatchi, Member of the House of Lords and
Former Chairman of the Conservative Party
‘In this increasingly uncertain society of post truth in which
we live, these lectures and discussions are thought-provoking
and timely. They give the opportunity for reflection,
particularly, for those who serve the public, in whatever
capacity, to know where they stand and having found
that place hold to it. Congratulations to the Westminster
Abbey Institute.’
– Baroness Butler-Sloss, Member of the
House of Lords and Former President of the
Family Division of the High Court
‘The conflict between moral courage, idealism and
compromise…requires constant attention, and it is this
struggle that keeps us morally alive and allows us to retain
our souls. Through a combination of deep moral philosophy
and historical perspectives, leavened by practical experience
and revealed in compelling interviews, this book achieves
something rather special: it forces us to think about who we
are, what we do and why?’
– Baroness D’Souza, Scientist and
Member of the House of Lords
THE MORAL HEART OF PUBLIC SERVICE
of related interest
Morals, Rights and Practice in the Human Services
Effective and Fair Decision-Making in Health,
Social Care and Criminal Justice
Marie Connolly and Tony Ward
ISBN 978 1 84310 486 5
eISBN 978 1 84642 716 9
The Forgiveness Project
Stories for a Vengeful Age
Marina Cantacuzino
Forewords by Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu and Alexander McCall Smith
ISBN 978 1 78592 000 4
eISBN 978 1 78450 006 1
Learning from Baby P
The politics of blame, fear and denial
Sharon Shoesmith
ISBN 978 1 78592 003 5
eISBN 978 1 78450 238 6
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MMoorraall
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HHeeaarrtt
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SSEERRVVIICCEE
Edited by Claire Foster-Gilbert
Edited by Claire Foster-Gilbert
Foreword by John Hall, Dean of Westminster
Afterword by Stephen Lamport
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2017
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017
Foreword copyright © Dean of Westminster 2017
Afterword copyright © Stephen Lamport 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic
means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner
except in accordance with the provisions of the law or under terms of a licence
issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. www.cla.co.uk or in
overseas territories by the relevant reproduction rights organisation, for details
see www.ifrro.org. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission
to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work
may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78592 255 8
eISBN 978 1 78450 540 0
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 9
John Hall, Dean of Westminster
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 11
Introduction 13
Claire Foster-Gilbert
Humanizing Hell: Our Restless
Conscience and the Search for Peace 24
William Hague
Strengthening Moral Courage in Public Life 41
Three Essays by Claire Foster-Gilbert
Moral Analysis 43
Moral Perception 60
Moral Practice 77
Building Communities 93
A Conversation Between Mary McAleese and John Hall
Idealism and Compromise 123
Three Essays by Vernon White
Idealism: Exploring the Implications of Our
Thwarted Ideals 125
Morality: Exploring the Implications of Moral Authority 141
Purposefulness: Exploring the Implications of Our
Pervasive Sense of Purpose 157
The Staying Power of Benedict in
Parliament Square 172
Rowan Williams
Benedictine Values in Public Life 191
Three Essays by Vernon White, Andrew Tremlett and Claire Foster-Gilbert
Stability 193
Vernon White
Community 209
Andrew Tremlett
The Conversion of Manners 227
Claire Foster-Gilbert
Reflections: Timeliness and Timelessness 244
Peter Hennessy in Conversation with Claire Foster-Gilbert
AFTERWORD 268
Stephen Lamport
REFERENCES 271
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES 276
SUBJECT INDEX 282
AUTHOR INDEX 287
