Daniel French

Vicars against lockdown

(Getty images)

Is it time for vicars to speak out against lockdown? As an Anglican priest, I’ve watched in bemusement as some of my colleagues have waded in on Brexit, Black Lives Matter, or Dominic Cummings’s trip to Barnard Castle. But why are many of these same voices silent on an issue that affects far more of us: the Prime Minister’s drastic order for us to stay at home and the curtailing (again) of church services?

The church used to pride itself on robust debate. It was a seedbed for intellectual giants who were not afraid to say their mind. But whatever happened to those colourful canons, dotty theologians, and rebellious bishops who made the Church of England so gloriously interesting, if not fun? 

To be fair to the CofE, there is at least now an acknowledgment of the possible harms of lockdown.

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