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Good morning. A number of current news stories revolve around questions of loyalty. Shamima Begum is seen by many to have betrayed Britain by leaving to join Islamic State. Some Labour and Tory MPs have left their parties this week, citing among other reasons a sense of duty to their country and their constituencies which they are putting before loyalty to their party leaders. Brexit confronts us with agonisingly divided loyalties. People often ask how I as a woman remain loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. It’s a question I ask myself. This week, bishops from around the world are gathering in Rome to discuss the sex abuse crisis. Where are the women, I wonder? Why should we trust them now, when they have failed to put their own house in order for so long? Some have been acting out of a sense of misguided loyalty for years, putting the institution before their duty to protect vulnerable people. Yet for me and for other women I know, we keep faith in spite of and not because of the all-male hierarchy. There are good reasons for this – a rich sacramental and cultural tradition, the Church’s long history of care for the poorest of the poor, a sense of belonging to a global community which is more diverse and dynamic than its arcane structures of leadership. Above all, I experience in this creaking institution the story of Christ unfolding in time, in the midst of the bumbling endeavours of his followers – including me. But loyalty should never be blind, for that can make us overlook the faults of those we regard as insiders, while breeding bigotry, intolerance and rejection towards those deemed to be outsiders. If the condition of belonging is unquestioning loyalty and a sense of exclusivity, then the price is too high. Jesus tells his followers that they must love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. That’s why following him sometimes means distancing ourselves from those who seek to create a sense of belonging by building walls instead of bridges, by giving us an identity that defines us over and against rather than with and for others. It can be a frightening and lonely step to decide that our values and principles come before our loyalty to an institution, a faith, a nation or a relationship, and such a decision is never taken lightly. But sometimes, it’s an emancipating affirmation of respect for self and others to take that step, and not necessarily an act of betrayal.