2/25/2024 0 Comments Mr. bean goes to church![]() We all get caught out by the journalist phoning, telling us the horror story and asking for an instant response – and that’s fine. But, why, when these stories explode, do people like Widdecombe and others not exercise the self-discipline of finding out the facts before commenting? I wouldn’t have thought that would be so revolutionary. She managed to go through the entire interview trying to ignore this inconvenient truth and simply slag off the lousy Church anyway. When I got my chance I asked her for an apology (on the basis of the ninth Commandment which says that we shouldn’t misrepresent our neighbour’s case) as the said report had nothing to do with the bishops, had not been commissioned by them, not published by them and not authorised by them. I did a head-to-head with her on BBC radio and she went first, repeating her tirade. She once slagged off (in a newspaper column – the Express, I think) the entire House of Bishops of the Church of England – and, by extension, the whole Church of England) for some research the House was supposed to have commissioned and published. Hardly surprising, as she has form in this regard. One of the shouters is, predictably, Ann Widdecombe. ![]() ![]() The whole story emanated from a piece on the BBC website and from it all sorts of conclusions were drawn. (Listen to ‘Feedback’ on Radio 4 today – which I did in the car.) Yet another example of anti-Christian, liberal, politically-correct nonsense by the Beeb! Except, of course (and somewhat inconveniently), it simply isn’t true. However, I also emerged to the rather bizarre shouting match about the BBC and its policy decision to ban the use of ‘BC’ and ‘AD’ on its programmes. The truth about clergy integrity can stand for itself, regardless of how comic actors see them. I have no idea – and it is hardly the most important matter in the world. I even wonder if he – like many who find the unwise aside quoted as the main thrust of the story – watched amazed as the story ran away with itself. People have been questioning his own integrity, hypocrisy, etc and then having a go at his not-very-funny creations… as if disliking Mr Bean is enough to justify discrediting the actor behind the character. What is interesting from some of the response is just how personal it all gets. I wonder if he really thought his comments would become the story they did. I am beginning to wonder if he regretted slagging off the clergy in the first place or if it was a deliberate ‘get the headlines’ grab to raise his profile for the launch of his latest film. Having been out of radio contact for the last three days (at a residential meeting at the utterly beautiful and wonderful Parcevall Hall in the Yorkshire Dales – no mobile signal and no accessible wi-fi), I re-emerge to find all sorts of comment about the Rowan Atkinson interview last week.
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