The Archbishop of York has lost the plot

As the head of the Church of England, the Queen is known as Defender of the Faith, but I'm not quite sure what faith there is left to defend. These days, the Archbishops seem more interested in defending the fanatics of other faiths. As part of an act of "pubic witness" to encourage peace in the Middle East, Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York has cancelled his holiday, shaved his head, pitched a tent in York Minster, and is fasting in protest at the current events in Lebanon. He said his actions mirrored those of countless numbers of people caught up in the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, who were having to sleep rough and without proper food. Dr Sentamu said: "This act is a rallying call to people of all faiths and none, to encourage them to feel that there is something that can be done". I'm not sure how living in a tent in Northern England can contribute to peace in the middle east, maybe Dr Sentamu can enlighten us.

The Archbishop of York has also had some other pearls of wisdom to share with the world. When George Bush’s recently claimed that the West is at war with “Islamic fascists”, Dr John Sentamu said such comments were “not helpful”. “I actually want to see this society becoming a good neighbourly place and you are not going to do it by that kind of language on the ranch in Texas. It doesn’t really work because in the long run you are going to end up with people who may be absolutely innocent being branded as extremists and enemies.”

The Archbishop when on to say that he did not believe that Islam was the real cause of the terrorist attacks carried out by militants. “I do not think the people who are doing this are doing it because of Islam. Most of them are doing it because they have been given a vision which is so imaginatively wicked that they believe we can build a better world than actually exists.”

Yes, and I suppose that Christianity was not the real cause of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the countless blood libels that took place all over Europe? Clerical fascism isn't limited to Islam, and mindful of how Christianity operated over the last two millenia, you'd have thought the Archbishop would be the first person to be aware of that.