After their poor showing in the local elections, and losing one referendum after another on their proposal for directly elected mayors, the political parties in the Coalition Government are said to be suffering an identity crisis.

I’m really going to miss the short, sharp message: “It’s Phyllis; it’s urgent; ring when you can.” It was always urgent and it always elicited a response as soon as I could. 

So the UK has slipped back into recession, as new figures published this week revealed that the economy has shrunk by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

The Government seems to be reconsidering its proposals on taxing philanthropy, on taxing conservatories, on the type of jet it will order for aircraft carriers and perhaps on reform of the House of Lords and on reform of the law of marriage.

Media headlines label these as U-turns and offer encouragement to all who are perplexed by any government announcement, that it might be a false alarm.

So, the European Court of Human Rights has upheld its earlier view that member states do not have to grant same-sex couples access to marriage. In a landmark judgement, the court has thrown out the test case of a female French couple who were trying to secure marriage rights under clauses that prevent discrimination and protect privacy and family life.

The ruling, which states clearly that “the applicants’ legal situation could not be said to be comparable to that of married couples”, has come just days after the Government published its controversial ‘consultation paper’, which has the personal backing of David Cameron. The judges also pointed out that, if any country did push ahead and introduce ‘same-sex marriage’, then its Churches would be guilty of discrimination if they refused to conduct such ceremonies.

Life in the monastery has been rather trying of late. The boiler kept breaking down, the broadband connection kept breaking up and the dog had to be rushed to the vet for emergency treatment after gobbling a neighbour’s raisins.

I’m not sure which was worst: the daily inconvenience of a cold house with no hot water; the frustration of not being able to work or the thought that our friendly old watchdog might die.

The Focolare movement was founded in Trenti in northern Italy by the charismatic Chiara Lubich, who started her project working in the poorer neighbourhoods of the bombed city during the Second World War.

The conclusion of the week was in The Guardian’s balanced blog by Michael White: “Noisy bishops aren’t always wrong”. High praise indeed for the Church from that quarter.

Three shocking stories indicate a depravity and brutalism which at first glance appears beyond belief. But these wake-up calls are all too real.

One of the biggest questions still hanging heavy in the air after the furore this week surrounding Government plans to redefine marriage, was the significant mystery as to who exactly is behind this attempted seismic upheaval in social values.

Three stories have been running all week: an outpouring of love and grief on the death of the singer Whitney Houston; a rising tide of indignation at a judge’s ruling that Bideford Council does not have the lawful authority to begin its meetings with prayers; and outrage at the behaviour of footballers, from Louis Suarez to Carlos Tevez.

From Amy Winehouse to Whitney Houston, the public on either side of the Atlantic warms to singers with distinctive voices and with ‘soul’. Any addiction problems are met, at least in death, with compassion.

The great Irish folk musician Christie Moore wrote 20 years ago that “for all of our languages we cannot communicate”, reflecting a global world in which language barriers still seemed insuperable.

Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South – a hard-line advocate of abortion and population control – has been given time for a House of Commons debate on assisted suicide.

Although the date is not yet been fixed, it is anticipated that the debate will occur in March. The Motion will be seconded by the Labour MP David Winnick, whose views are the same as Mr Ottaway’s.

Why is it that we still can’t seem to take proper care of our elderly? In a damning report this week, the Commons health select committee has charged that some elderly people are suffering hardship and diminished quality of life because of cuts to services.

Few tears were shed this week when Fred ‘the shred’ Goodwin was stripped ignominiously of his knighthood. In the face of economic recession and genuine hardship being suffered by so many, the “cancellation and annulment” of his title was seen by most as inevitable, and justified.

The intervention of Lord Carey into the increasingly embittered welfare debate