As a mere priest of his diocese, may I offer a soft pawn’s defence of my bishop, David Walker, against the unfair charges made by Ian Joseph of Trustees Unlimited (Letters, 22 October)? To nobody’s great surprise, Bishop David’s comments have been taken out of context, misquoted, and either deliberately or unwittingly misunderstood. Parsonage houses do not belong to the clergy who live in them, and there are serious and complicated legal issues around occupancy and usage. Because he is a bishop, David’s home is also an office, a chapel, a meeting place, and other things besides. He probably entertains hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors a year. It would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for him to provide a suitable haven for traumatised and culture-shocked refugees. Even so, Mission and Ministry officers of Manchester diocese are already working on a realistic plan to house homeless people, including refugees, on a long-term basis.
As to “Good Samaritans”, it may be worth pointing out to Ian Joseph that the one in Luke 10 did not house the beaten-up man himself, but took him to an inn, paid for his first night there and promised to make good any extra costs incurred, the next time he passed by. I am not in favour of exchanging scriptural texts as a means of discussion, but perhaps we might all reflect on the saying of Jesus that Luke also records at 6:42 – “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye’, when you cannot see the great log in your own?”
Fr Alec Mitchell
Manchester
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