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Has the Church Abandoned the Poor?
In April 2018, Philip North, Bishop of Burnley expressed the opinion that there was “a widespread perception among northern DDOs [diocesan directors of ordinands] that candidates from working-class backgrounds with northern accents are victims of prejudice” in the selection process for ordination training. Bishop North has, in recent years, become one of the sharpest critics…
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Truth, Freedom of Speech, and the Poppy
This blog is a sort of semi-sequel to this one. If you have not read it, you may like to. In a recent speech, the actor and comedian Stephen Fry expressed his frustration at the apparent death of the political centre ground. The problem, he feels, is that freedom of speech is under attack from both…
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“Why Are You Not Communist Like Jesus Was?”: Anarchists on Christianity
For some time now I have been thinking about how to open this blog up to allow voices other than my own to be heard. Recently I ‘reblogged’ a piece from elsewhere for the first time, and soon a series of guest bloggers will be posting on issues close to them. For this piece though, I…
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The Problem With Policing
Expressing your aversion to the police as an institution immediately elicits some variation of the same question each time: “what if someone’s breaking into my house?” or “what if someone attacks me?”. People worry about being the victim of, or witness to a crime, and this is completely understandable. Problems soon come though, when such…
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Poverty and Privilege
Walking the Camino is a privilege. We often use such words flippantly, even if we are showing gratitude, but what does it really mean for something to be a privilege? For the last five weeks I’ve been working this through my head. I am someone who has, at least in relative terms, known both sides…
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Being Working Class in the Church
Why aren’t working-class people going to church, and what can we do about it?
Bread and Rosaries 