“Open Pulpit”

Press, 2 December 1978, Page 12

“Open Pulpit”

Sir, — We entirely agree with Mrs Whiteside (November 30), concerning Canon Lowe’s “Open Pulpit” with Trevor Richards. Apartheid is a moral problem for most people, not a political one. It is difficult to see how a practising Christian can be anything but vigorously opposed to such a system. On this programme we had Trevor Richards putting forward a series of constructive ways of opposing apartheid; by contrast, we had the amazing spectacle of Canon Lowe criticising all these positive suggestions but offering nothing in their place. As parishioners of his we were sadly disillusioned, and his meaningless verbiage in response to Mrs Whiteside’s letter shows that he is still not prepared to be an active Christian as far as apartheid is concerned. —

Yours, etc., DR MICHAEL E. J. BEARD. (Mrs) ELIZABETH M. BEARD. November 30, 1978.

Sir, — I would like to congratulate Iris Whiteside on her objectivity and resulting conclusions from the Trevor Richards “Open Pulpit” programme. Canon Lowe obviously has difficulty in being objective, as he says. He seems to place the Prime Minister, leader of the Opposition, and Secretary of the Commonwealth all on a Divine par with God and unquestionable on their statements about the Gleneagles Agreement. The Government has and will distort issues to suit itself. I watched the entire programme with interest and in the latter stages with mixed contempt and mirth. To me, it was not Richards who was annoyed, inaccurate and trivial; but Canpn Lowe himself. It seems we always accuse others of that which we are guilty of ourselves. For an “abhorrer of apartheid” and a supporter of New Zealand v. South Africa rugby, Canon Lowe cannot expect to justify his actions. — Yours, etc.,

FIONA BRYANT November 29, 1978.