For a man pretending to be a vicar, it was high praise indeed.
The night before this interview, actor Tom Hollander and his co-stars from Rev went for drinks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
And the verdict from the country’s most senior churchman? He declared Tom’s portrayal of put-upon Reverend Adam Smallbone “pitch perfect” and revealed he is a firm fan of the hit BBC2 show.
Tom, 44, says: “We went to Lambeth Palace and it was thrilling. One of the few relaxing things about being Archbishop of Canterbury is that you can have lovely drinks parties that people turn up to….
Read it all and for more information about the show, please go there.
Folks you can imagine how I feel about this programme, as a Catholic priest. In the second (I think) episode which I was watching, there was a casual exchange between the vicar and man on a park bench. Vicar says that he is taking children on an outing to the sea. Man on bench (I quote roughly); ‘Good thing it’s not a Catholic outing because the children would be in the sand dunes after lunch with the paedophile priests.’
Yes, I know popular perceptions. But it felt like acid thrown in my face.
#1 Yes, Fr Tee – some of our blackshirts report the same reaction which makes them think twice about going out in uniform. It is a tragic betrayal of so many decent priests like yourself, the vast majority; as well as of the children. You have my prayers and thoughts.
On the other hand, the lead editorial in our local paper urged restraint and due process in the Penn State scandal. I could only wonder what they would be writing had it concerned a Catholic priest.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/11/17/3534659/even-ugly-penn-state-charges-merit.html