Recusants' revenge.

The article discusses the persecution complex of British Roman Catholics, and argues that Roman Catholicism has become socially fashionable. The roots for British Roman Catholics' feelings of distance and isolation stem from past religious conflicts but are echoed in the writings of influential latter-day Catholic novelists such as Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and most recently David Lodge. But Roman Catholicism is now seen as cool and classy among the country's social elite, evidenced by a bunch of high-profile conversions. The government is studded with practicing Catholics. All the party leaders are going to the funeral of Pope John Paul II. However, Roman Catholic numbers, both of laity and clergy, are in a headlong decline.