UK Ferry Tickets Bishop’s flight of fancy is wide of the mark

Bishop’s flight of fancy is wide of the mark

A sure-fire way to give a person a lifelong dislike of something is to force it on them from an early age.

With me, it was religion. I went to a school where we were obliged to attend a service in a Cathedral six times a week. I’ve hardly set foot in such a building since I finished my ‘A’ levels 25 years ago.

Services during the week were, admittedly, short, but the ones that stuck in my memory were the hour-long dirges on a Sunday, in that freezing cold, stone colossus, which had to be endured before breakfast. All I could think about during the sermon and hymns was poached egg on toast.

These days, I’ve nothing against religion. Several members of my family have strong beliefs. Each to their own, but it’s not for me. Those days at school have left an indelible mark.

I wonder how many schoolchildren have been put off religion (do children still go to church, these days?) by the recent words of wisdom from the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres.

Flying abroad for a holiday (which a lot of children do) is a sin against the planet, according to the bishop. Like stealing and adultery, choosing to fly has moral consequences because of its effect on the environment.

At a time when church services are at an all-time low, comments like that are hardly guaranteed to get people rushing through the doors.
These days, more people fly than ever before, and they fly more often than they used to. The age of no-frills travel has opened the door for everyone to be able to take off, at least to the Continent.

This isn’t suddenly going to change and although I support environmental projects (some of the bigger tour operators have contributed millions of pounds to projects), it is completely unrealistic to try to bully people into boycotting flights.

I, and millions of other people, work hard and enjoy our short breaks and longer trips, and to liken us to thieves and adulterers is insulting and pious nonsense.

We need constructive debate about how to safeguard the planet for future generations, not cheap shots at honest people who enjoy holidays.

And, unless the church stops flying missionaries around the world, there’s more than a whiff of hypocrisy in those remarks.

I’m off to Australia later this year. For going on such a long trip, I’ll probably be bracketed with murderers and rapists.

Come on bishop – get off your high horse and get real!

What do you think?

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore