Post by kristine on Dec 22, 2009 15:43:52 GMT -5
British Priest OKs Shoplifting
Desperate should steal from chains, not small stores, he says
Understanding? irrisponsible? hero or heritic?
Desperate should steal from chains, not small stores, he says
Father Tim Jones, parish priest of St Lawrence and St Hilda in York, broke off from the traditional Nativity story to say that sometimes shoplifting was the only option for poor families and certainly better than "prostitution, mugging or burglary" as a way of making money.
Mr Jones, who previously worked as a prison chaplain, told his congregation: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither. I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."
He said his advice did not contradict the Bible's eighth commandment, not to steal, saying God's love for the poor and despised outweighed the property rights of the rich.
He added: "Let my words not be misrepresented as a simplistic call for people to shoplift. "The observation that shoplifting is the best option that some people are left with is a grim indictment of who we are.
"Rather, this is a call for our society no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt."
He said that providing "inadequate or clumsy social support" was "monumental, catastrophic folly".
But the Venerable Richard Seed, Archdeacon of York said shoplifting could never be seen as a last resort.
He said: "The Church of England does not advise anyone to shoplift, or break the law in any way.
Sunday's incident is not the first time the priest has courted controversy.
Last year Mr Jones became so incensed at the sight of Playboy stationery aimed at children for sale, he swept the items off the shelf of his local Stationery Box store and stormed out of the shop with his seven-year-old daughter.
And in 2007 he called a halt to children's yoga classes which were being held in his church hall, claiming the form of exercise has its roots in Hinduism and was a "sham".
Mr Jones, who previously worked as a prison chaplain, told his congregation: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither. I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."
He said his advice did not contradict the Bible's eighth commandment, not to steal, saying God's love for the poor and despised outweighed the property rights of the rich.
He added: "Let my words not be misrepresented as a simplistic call for people to shoplift. "The observation that shoplifting is the best option that some people are left with is a grim indictment of who we are.
"Rather, this is a call for our society no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt."
He said that providing "inadequate or clumsy social support" was "monumental, catastrophic folly".
But the Venerable Richard Seed, Archdeacon of York said shoplifting could never be seen as a last resort.
He said: "The Church of England does not advise anyone to shoplift, or break the law in any way.
Sunday's incident is not the first time the priest has courted controversy.
Last year Mr Jones became so incensed at the sight of Playboy stationery aimed at children for sale, he swept the items off the shelf of his local Stationery Box store and stormed out of the shop with his seven-year-old daughter.
And in 2007 he called a halt to children's yoga classes which were being held in his church hall, claiming the form of exercise has its roots in Hinduism and was a "sham".
Understanding? irrisponsible? hero or heritic?
