Life will, on occasions, remind us how we impact and touch each other.

Last evening, I had spent after work drinks with two colleagues and in our talking recalled to them how the 1980’s was a particularly significant time on the London gay scene. I described how a documentary made at the time; ‘Framed Youth’, captured the politics and connectedness that provided a strong sense of identity and community.

My efforts to explain what that time was like were no longer needed for within seconds a mobile phone was produced and suddenly ‘Framed Youth’ was there in the bar with us capturing the period so well. Faces and voices including my own from that time came alive again and for me it could have been just yesterday.

One of the faces from that time and from that documentary has always filled me with happiness and wonderful memories was the face of Royce Ullah. Seeing him once again, the recall and experience was none the less and just as powerful. I left the bar, came home very much with him and that period forefront in my mind.

Royce was still on my mind a little later when I logged on to check my messages and was stopped short as there was Royce once again looking out at me from the screen. His photo along with a tribute had been posted just moments before. Yes, Royce had completed his life on this earth and had died.

The many comments and tributes the post enabled were beautiful, moving and such a powerful reminder of how some people touch us deeply, not just in the moment, but across decades. Royce was, and in many ways continues to be, one of those people. I was 21 when we met and could never have imagined at that time I would be here, in the early hours of another day, almost 4 decades later writing and thinking of him in this way.

I was going to say that we are all less without Royce, but no, that is not correct. We are all more because of Royce and the way that he touched our lives and continues to do so.

Royce was gentle, kind, warm and generous with his ability for fun and laughter. He was also powerful and magical. In his presence you were able to sense his confidence,self belief and peace of mind. Royce was and remains a beautiful soul and he touched many with all that he was.

Today, l too will touch and impact on others lives. Will I do so in a way that will cause me to be remembered and still present even after my passing, maybe not. But Royce has reminded me and is reminding me to be more conscious of this fact and I am so grateful to him for that and of course for all his beauty and spirit.

Br Stephen Morris fcc

Frank Sinatra’s ‘I Love You Baby’, once heard seldom forgotten and of course for all reasons good. However, I didn’t expect to hear it late last night in the cold wind and rain as I stood waiting for a taxi in the remote part of the country where I live.

But unmistakably there it was filling the night air. It was being sung by two teenage boys, no older I guess than 16 who, word perfect matched the rendition of Frank himself being streamed on one of the boy’s mobile phones.

In the almost total darkness, they seemed oblivious of me the only other person present. At some point I looked up to show my appreciation and saw that they were in fact singing it to each other. As the song progressed into its iconic showband sound of its era, the boys started to dance, together and for each other. Rhythmic, tender, intimate and most definitely with love. No adolescent piss taking from these two.

It came to an end. But clearly their love of each other didn’t, they remained held in each other’s arms.

Me, I remained deeply moved. I had spent the evening with a friend, engaged in our own intense way discussing sexuality, love, intimacy, the priesthood and celibacy. We were recalling experiences across four decades. So, these two very young confident men, without them knowing it, joined the evenings conversation and brought it to a beautiful conclusion. Just as ‘I Love You Baby’ is a song not possible to forget, I will never forget them…

Out of the darkness, wind and rain, A taxi eventually arrived and with love they shared it with me….

Br Stephen Morris fcc

Today, 30 April 2025, marks 26 years since the nail bomb attack on Admiral Duncan in Soho. Three people lost their lives and many were seriously injured in what was the third attack by a neo Nazi who also attacked the black and Indian communities. His hate was directed at people he considered ‘other’ and it seems more important than ever to not forget these hate crimes, those who died and were injured.

Before specialising in sexual crime, I would occasionally be asked to assess the risk and dangerousness of those charged with hate crime offences. It was always interesting to identify what had influenced the development of hatred in their lives and to the extent that it has manifested in often murderous behaviour. It was always horrifyingly poignant for me when defendants would quote distortions of christian teaching or church doctrine as a means of justifying their actions. Many did.

It is a chilling fact that when so called christians condemn LGBT people, in the myriad of ways that they often do, they are providing the fuel of hatred which others take up and later manifest in violent and deadly crime. The blood of LGBT people is not just on the hands of the guilty perpetrator, but it also extends to the hands of those who sow hatreds seed.

The laws concerning hate crime do not go far enough. They need to be extended and used against those who use faith as a vehicle of hate, for in clinical assessment terms they are indeed ‘very high risk of harm’.

Br Stephen Morris fcc