Poor being abandoned by ‘coffee-shop clergy’

The Church is “abandoning” the poor because middle-class clergy are unwilling to move away from “trendy coffee shops”, a bishop has said.

The Rt Rev Philip North launched a stinging critique of Church of England priests in a speech made at Christian conference New Wine United.

The Bishop of Burnley said: “I am astonished at the number of people Jesus is calling to plant new churches as long as they are in Zones 1 and 2 of the London transport system. We need you on the outer estates, in northern towns … we need you in areas where trendy coffee shops are hard to find.” He said the Church was “complicit in the abandonment of the poor.”