Saturday, February 02, 2008

Archbishop Jensen Sings His Brother's Praises

Following comments by Peter Phillips that the Jensens has vandalised church music and made the working conditions of the last choirmaster Michael Deasey so difficult that he had to leave (see my original article here and the interview here), Archbishop Peter Jensen has seen fit to step in and defend his brother. Most notably, he suggests that there are "inaccuracies in the reports about which I will say nothing". Seems like a fairly weak response to me. Archbishop Jensen, what exactly are these inaccuracies with which you speak? Is it true that opportunities for the choir to perform in a liturgical context have been reduced, or is Michael Deasey lying about this?

Archbishop Jensen also states that "no opportunity was given to respond to these remarks before they aired". While this is true, strictly speaking, Jensen's inference of bias is incredibly misleading. At the end of the interview, Crittenden comments:

On PM on the same day as this programme, the Jensen brothers declined PM's request for an interview about that story but the Anglican Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, issued a statement saying that "the church's mission is for all people, not just those who follow an elitist repertoire of church music".


Shame Jensen, shame.

1 comment:

Dave said...

I like jazz in the cathedral http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/