Sadly we feel it incumbent upon us, in this season of great solemnity and celebration for all Christians, to reply to the recent column in the Barrhead Leader this past week (April 10, 2012). We wish to address the comments in the last two paragraphs of Editor Tim Bryant’s column, “Too little, too late.”
As members of the Barrhead and District Ministerial Association, we feel that we must communicate to the publisher and editor how deeply offensive we find his closing comments.
Although they appear to be made in a flippant manner and unrelated to the content of the column, they seem to betray a certain vitriol for the religious sensibilities of many of the people in this community. Regardless of the editor’s personal beliefs, we think that all Canadians have come to expect that in such public discourse and forum our freedom of speech also be governed by common decency and civility, if not respect.
While the editor certainly ought to be able to hold to his own convictions, we feel that his comments are not only egregious to many people in this community, but inflammatory and deeply offensive as well. We expect more journalistic integrity and better judgment from the editor in refraining from publishing comments that are, at the very least, in “bad taste.”
Perhaps we could suggest from our own religious traditions, that a heartfelt apology to Christians in this community might be in order; trusting that it is not “too little, too late.”
Rev. Kevin Ree on behalf of the Barrhead and District Ministerial Association
