Archbishop's Joke

 

By Ian Cowie 

BISHOPS AND BLAGGERS

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, criticised City traders this week for their role in the global credit crisis.

In particular, Dr Sentamu told the annual dinner of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers: "Those who made £190m deliberately underselling the shares of HBOS, in spite of a very strong capital base, and drove it into the arms of Lloyds TSB, are clearly bank robbers and asset strippers."

Whether you agree or not, there can be no doubt that Jesus Christ took a pretty firm line with moneylenders in the Temple and it is refreshing to hear Anglican leaders delivering strong moral guidance.

It reminded me of a London Press Club lunch last year when Dr Sentamu spoke very movingly about the BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was being held hostage, and compared it with his own time in captivity in Idi Amin's Uganda.

Dr Sentamu also told a joke which not many people could get away with. In these desperate times we could all do with cheering up, so here it is.

A Rhodesian airplane was flying across the ocean when some of its engines stopped. The pilot tells passengers not to panic but he must reduce weight to gain height and so is jettisoning all the luggage. He does so but the plane continues to lose altitude.

Then the pilot says: "There is nothing to worry about but we must lose more weight and so some passengers will have to don parachutes and leave the plane."

Pandemonium breaks out but the pilot continues: "To be fair, we will select the parachutists alphabetically. Now, are there any Africans onboard?"

Total silence. So he goes on: "Are there any blacks?"

At this point, a little black boy sitting next to his father at the back of the plane says quietly: "Daddy, aren't we Africans?"

And his father booms back: "Silence, you foolish child. We are Zulus."