Letters | 23 February 2008

This turbulent priest

Sir: Seeing that it was I who wrote the article in The Spectator five and a half years ago advancing the case for choosing Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury the week before he was actually shortlisted for the job, I have something of an obligation to ask myself whether I got it right (‘Just a posh version of Prescott’, 16 February).

The answer, I think, is yes. Let’s remember, amid all the kerfuffle, that Jesus himself also prevaricated on the tricky issues of the day, included the excluded and overrode doctrine. How enraging it all was to the righteous, to those fearful for their identity and their own moral fences! A woman was caught committing adultery in flagrante, and all he would do was doodle in the dust and ultimately remark that whoever was without sin should fling the first rock. He was playing for time, giving no robust lead at all.