Hi °C | Lo °C I am responding to Dr Clifford Smyth regarding the plight of working-class Protestants (Write Back, September 6).
Does it not occur to him that the Roman Catholic clergy and Catholic politicians live among their congregants/constituents — unlike the Protestant clergy, who insist on living in prestigious areas.
The only time Protestant clergy live next to the church is when the house is detached, surrounded by mature trees and shrubs and far away from the housing estates which bankroll their positions. Some ministers live an inordinate distance from their churches.
Naturally, the Catholic community is going to benefit from leaders who know first-hand what is going on in the community.
Protestants need to waken up to the inequality of their spiritual leaders and discontinue bankrolling them when the working-class person is hurting.
PATRICE SWEENEY
Newtownabbey, Co Antrim
