Sitting targets

Mr McCartney's suggestion that the archbishop's visit to Rome is motivated by publicity is benignly uninformed. The archbishop has been invited to Rome during the week of global prayer for Christian unity, where he will meet, pray with, and build bonds of fellowship with Christians from various denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church. Not only will the archbishop be joining in prayers for unity, he will be acting out those prayers through his full programme.

Mr McCartney also seems to suggest the archbishop should confine his activities to the city of York. As archbishop, Dr Sentamu is responsible not only for York, but also for supporting people and parishes in one of the largest dioceses in the Church of England, which is geographically widespread and includes a family of 602 churches and 127 schools in 469 parishes.

In addition, as the head of Northern Province of the Church of England, the archbishop leads the 14 dioceses of the north, and is also one of the presidents of the General Synod and the Archbishop's Council.

With the Archbishop of Canterbury, he is a leading spokesman on behalf of the Church of England, and is patron or president to more than 100 organisations, many based in York, in addition to his work with national charities and institutions.

He also regularly supports the work of York Minster, in addition to participating in services across the diocese and province throughout the year, while finding time to cheer on York City as part of his role as the club's president.

In all of this the archbishop has stated that he remains "an unworthy servant of a worthy saviour" and seeks only to "usher in the movement of God's forgiveness and justice in a world so sorely needing in both".

The Rev Arun Arora, Archbishop's director of communications, Bishopthorpe Palace, York.

* How wryly amusing that the letter from Mr McCartney criticising the extrovert Archbishop of York and Mr Scaife's letter criticising the introvert Archbishop of Canterbury should appear side by side.

Clearly an archbishop is a sitting target for criticism, no matter how he seeks to do his job.

Their job - and they are both good at it, if you take the time to listen or read what they have to say - is to remind their fellow countrymen and especially their church members that there is more to life than acquiring possessions and being concerned solely with yourself.

Of course, many Christians are hypocrites, as we all are. Unlike non-churchgoers, however, they belong to an institution which tells them they have fallen short in what they do and say.

When, you wonder, did any of the clubs, parties or associations Messrs McCartney and Scaife belong to tell them : "Judge not, that ye be not judged" or "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone"?

Mr McCartney should know that Dr Sentamu is the archbishop of the Northern Province, not simply the city of York, and is urging Anglicans throughout the north to increase their involvement in the life and problems of their communities. He is rightly using his high profile to set an example.

Mr Scaife has been involved in public life, and surely knows that possessing the property you occupy does not create income.

As someone with a social conscience he will also understand that the church as an employer has a duty to its staff and pensioners and could only realise its investments once.

Can he really believe that best means available to the archbishops to get across to the people of the UK the altruistic philosophy of Jesus Christ would be to close all the churches and sack all the staff?

Maurice Vassie, Deighton, York.