Acknowledgements

I thought that writing Credo would be the hard part. But no, even once I had a draft that I was finally happy with, there was still a tremendous amount of work to be done to get the book ready for its public debut.

It is literally true to say that I could not have done it without Nick Passmore’s help. and I owe him a gigantic thank you. Thank you. Nick proofed the manuscript, designed and typeset the book, and prepared the files for publication. I think he enjoyed it, at least he said he did.

Ciarán ÓGaora, founder of the Irish design company Zero G, is the genius, and I don’t use that word lightly, responsible for the cover design. He encouraged me at crucial moments, and I feel privileged to have had his involvement in this project.

Another invaluable input, though somewhat earlier in the process came from my parish priest, Father Duncan Lourensz. He allowed me to ask him numerous impertinent questions about the workings of the Church and the inner life of a Roman Catholic priest, and even answered some of them.

My wife Tricia, accompanied me on several grueling research trips. She appears to have an insatiable appetite for overnight South American bus journeys. She was also my first and best reader. My other partner Richard Butler, did much heavy lifting to keep me sane and gainfully employed throughout the whole process.

Our good friend and published author Stephen Cooper was also a stalwart reader and suggested numerous excellent revisions along the journey. In fact many family and friends read the first and second drafts, and the book improved dramatically as a result. A particular thank you to Jaume Clave Domenech who read and corrected all of the Spanish phrases in the book.