Remember good

Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has died in Kenya aged 45. Only two females of the endangered species remain in the world. @Kentoncool lamented: “This represents more than a death of a rhino, it’s a reflection of the devastation that mankind has caused on the planet... a place we call home. We are such a shortsighted, greedy society. RIP Sudan.” @Skyhighlindsay added: “And the worst thing about it? This won’t be the last species we see go extinct with our own eyes, in our lifetime.” @sekarrayii posted: “I may be overreacting, but knowing [of] the death of Sudan is breaking my heart... never even saw him, when I saw his picture, he got me hooked.” The announcement that Keith O’brien was to be the third Scottish cardinal since the Reformation caused a great deal of pleasure both in the Catholic Church and beyond. I was naturally drawn to a scientist who decided to become a full-time cleric and shared the liberal views he imbibed from his early devotion to Pope John and Vatican II. But the Christian church took on a harder edge during our careers and, while I could afford to rattle the Kirk’s cage, that wasn’t an option for a senior Catholic cleric.

As a cardinal, he argued a Vatican orthodoxy which did not reflect his kindly nature and I was heartbroken when he was engulfed in a scandal I found hard to credit.

Obituaries claim his work as a priest, the good that he clearly did and his brilliance as a preacher have all been lost in his downfall – maybe for some people, but not for me. (REV DR) JOHN CAMERON

Howard Place, St Andrews