Serenhedd James joins Gavin Ashenden for this 30th episode of Merely Catholic to talk about why it has been historically difficult to be both fully English and fully Catholic; whether it matters or not that the coronation of King Charles is going to involve oaths that don’t reflect the reality of the social and religious context; and perhaps most importantly, whether the time has come for the Catholic Church to take responsibility for being the principal and most coherent Church in these islands as Anglicanism diminishes in numbers, coherence and conviction. Dr James teaches ecclesiastical history at St Stephen’s House, Oxford; he is also Deputy Editor of the Catholic Herald and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic and Historical Societies.