Vicar advises congregation to shoplift
December 22, 2009
A vicar shocked his congregation at the weekend by announcing that at times of hardship a bit of shoplifting might be the answer. Father Tim Jones had been roundly condemned for his comments. Speaking in front of astonished onlookers at St. Lawrence’s church in York he explained that he felt it would be better for people who have been made desperate by the recession to take goods from stores run by large corporations rather that go down a route of mugging, burglary or prostitution.
He went on to point out that he wasn’t advising shoplifting because he thought it was right, but rather because the costs incurred by the bigger corporations would be charged back to other customers who could afford to pay slightly higher prices. He went on to ask that people who had no other option but to steal food from supermarkets did not do so to excess and that they desisted from the practice when they no longer need to do so out of necessity.
His comments have angered police who say that he has been very irresponsible in condoning theft. Business leaders have also been stunned by his comments. Federation of Small Businesses spokesman, Stephen Alambritis said that although Father Jones was advising his congregation to target bigger businesses, each year it was smaller businesses which really felt the affects of shoplifting. The British Retail Consortium’s Richard Dodd pointed out that he was pretty certain most religions taught that stealing was the wrong thing to do.
Related Posts
Comments
Advertisement
