Archbishop was trying to show compassion

I am not a religious person, but did study RE at school some while ago, so have to accept that the basic tenets of Christianity may have changed over the years.

One of the main themes I recall was about loving ones’ neighbour – not modern-day parlance admittedly, but with a very clear sentiment. It was unqualified – nobody regardless of the scale of their transgressions was excluded.

In fact, the greater the sin, the more deserving of kindness and forgiveness the perpetrator became.

I am therefore puzzled by Mr Vickers’s letter last week (“Archbishop embarked on leftwing political diatribe at Easter”), where he seems to think that some people do not deserve such consideration.

Nobody disputes the objective he describes, but it is patently obvious that this Government has sought the most unattractive process it can, which is what prompted Justin Welby’s comments.

By contrast, Mr Vickers’ sympathies clearly have well-defined limits. All parties say they want to make the world a better place (agreed), but the Tories believe that to do so you must make the rich richer before you can make the poor richer, so the real debate is about the means, not the end. Same as here.

Casting the archbishop’s words in a political context in an attempt to undermine his genuine compassion is hard to reconcile with my (limited) understanding of what Christianity is all about and I think he should be encouraged to comment on any activity he sees that is contradictory to the faith he leads – after all, who could be better qualified?

R Collingwood (Mrs)