Does our Archbishop need to work on his communication?

“…he does have a gift bordering on genius for calling a spade a uni-handled, longitudinal, horticultural implement … He should spend a week in a tabloid newsroom and learn how to sharpen up his prose.” says Richard Morrison in the Times

“Dr Williams, and I hope he will apply Christian forgiveness to me for saying so, needs to be introduced to a decent subeditor and the Plain English handbook.” says Emily Bell in the Guardian (They insist you subscribe these days, so no direct link).

“I have a theory about how Rowan Williams grew to be a man of such influence, which is that, at any gathering of clergymen, by the time he finished speaking the room would be largely asleep. At this point, there would be an awkward silence, before a bishop was prodded into startled wakefulness and asked his opinion. “Yeah, whatever that guy said,” he would respond. And from this Williams built a reputation as a man of ideas.” Martin Samuel rather unkindly in the Times.

Having waded through several of Rowan Williams’ speeches in the last couple of days I can begin to see their point. There are some good thoughts there, even very good thoughts, but it can be hard work understanding them. Unless I’m not particularly bright of course.

Of course it could be that lots of journalists are taking a cheap shot at Rowan after his media lecture last week…