Wellington's new archbishop both diplomat and priest

Archbishop John Dew in his beloved Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington. Picture /Mark Mitchell

Pride may be a sin but I think we can forgive the newly installed Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew, for wanting to show off a little. In any case, it is a thing - albeit a grandly named thing - he is keen on showing off.

He leads us through his lovely pink cathedral to one of those odd, musty, utilitarian rooms which exist in the back areas of churches and here we behold his cathedra.

This is Dew's very own chair, on which he sat on Thursday for the official ceremony of becoming archbishop. What terrific jargon the Catholic Church uses.

"You're an art exhibition," I tell Dew.

"Yes," he says, "or a microwave, or something."

He wants to show us his embroidered coat of arms, with the green archbishop's hat and the four rows of tassels. He would quite like it to be in the picture (sorry about that, Your Grace) so he and the photographer lug the chair, which weighs about as much as a baby elephant, through to the cathedral.

He won't sit on it because this would be inappropriate given that he is wearing a suit. But he says I should feel free. Of course I don't. I am far too respectful, as I'm sure the archbishop would agree.

He agrees with most things, because he is a very agreeable sort of chap. He is also as good as a politician at not answering the things he doesn't agree with.

When he pointed out that the embroidered panel had been set slightly off-centre in the chair frame he said, teasingly: "Which way is it leaning? To the left? Or to the right?"

"Let me hazard a guess," I said, "that it's leaning towards the right."

"You can hazard a guess," he said.

So he is leaning towards the Right? He said vaguely, "Oh, I don't think so," and avoided answering the question, in any form, for the rest of the interview.

This is an important question just now - which is no doubt why he's not going to give any easy answers - because of the death of the man whose photograph dominates the altar of Dew's cathedral.

It is because of the Pope's death, too, that Dew's ceremony couldn't be carried out by the man he succeeds. Cardinal Tom Williams, who will be part of the conclave which elects the next Pope, is in Rome.

It is, in a way, rotten timing for Dew - although he would not say any such thing. He does admit, though, to a slight disappointment that it was not Williams who would be the one to hand on to him the crozier, the pastoral staff that has been used since 1887.