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When the shadow of the coronavirus is finally lifted, the British public will have a long list of people to thank: doctors, nurses, cleaners, shop assistants, charities and \\u2013 maybe \\u2013 Boris Johnson. But there won\\u2019t be a round of applause for the parish clergy, that\\u2019s for sure, and it\'s not really their fault: the bishops, especially the Catholic ones, have mishandled the Covid crisis spectacularly.
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\\nAnd in the United States? To be sure, there are bishops and pastors who, like the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, form a Mafia of the Mediocre. But there is dynamism, too, and it\\u2019s interesting to note the extent to which successful Catholic and Protestant parishes share a common culture.\\xa0
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\\nMy guest this week is Keith Stanfield, the brilliant young violinist whose Opus 76 String Quartet played Beethoven for us so beautifully a few weeks ago. In addition to having played football for Western Samoa in World Cup qualifying matches, Keith has worked in the US financial sector. He\\u2019s a practising Catholic and a keen observer of the Evangelical churches where he regularly performs. He expresses some strong opinions in this episode. So do I. You\'ll also hear a few seconds of ear-splittingly hideous music and some pointed remarks about the impending vandalism of the Westminster Cathedral Choir.
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