A British Canon, Rev Paul Shakerley, has apologised for the rather unholy language he placed on his Facebook page.
Peter Burrows, bishop of Doncaster, met with Shakerley and said the Canon regretted the language and had removed the entry on Facebook.
“Whilst meant in a jocular sense, he recognizes that some of the language was unfitting. He has apologized unreservedly,” Burrows said in a statement posted on the diocesan website. “I have received Paul’s letter of apology and have been assured that this will not happen again.”
In the first of his Saturday night musings, Shackerley said: “I think I will put my feet up. I’ve done f— all today other than a jazz lesson and visit a friend. I hear the fizz of tonic in my gin beckoning.
“Alas, I have religion tomorrow. At least I’m not preaching this week. Preaching next week at St Mary Abbotts [sic] Kensington though. Best make that a good one eh?”
He also uploaded a photograph of himself with a snowman, and wrote: “Forgive my sin of frivolity. Sin is such fun! But I haven’t been having an inappropriate relationship with Snowy, who can longer be called a ‘snowman’ in the name of political correctness.”
A comment to a friend read: “P— myself! H, you are so funny!!! It was good to share over lunch yesterday and at the URC Homelessness ‘event’. I say ‘event’. It was hardly worship, was it? I hope you managed to get home okay. It was late by the time the URC [United Reformed Church] and Methodists finished. Good job we are Anglicans eh?”
The Facebook extracts were sent, with an anonymous letter, to church leaders claiming Shakerley had lost the confidence of his parishioners.
Sources