Concern over vicar's sentence should be heard

A fine of £1,000, plus half as much again as compensation for his victim, struck many as lenient, especially for someone in a position of spiritual authority who readily admitted loitering around public conveniences in the hope of a homosexual encounter.

Social media readily made the link between the Church of England’s privileged position in Guernsey society as established church and ‘the establishment’ allegedly looking after its own.

Contrast a walk-free-from-court fine for groping a young man to the life-changing jail terms handed down for victimless crimes – particularly those involving cannabis, they argue.

Who sets the tariffs? A fine of £6,000 for a woman of limited means for breaching Covid restrictions, but £1,000 for a fine, upstanding gentleman for his actions at Grandes Rocques?

There is very little visibility of how the courts determine sentencing policy and how – or indeed whether – those policies reflect society’s views of crime and just punishment.

The Dean and Vice-Deans of Guernsey have offered a heartfelt apology through an open letter – reprinted on this page – which does reflect well on the Church. They are clearly sincere and have offered no defence of their former senior colleague.

According to the clergy’s own guidelines, there is no separation between public and home life, so arguably they see Father Moore’s fall from grace as even more serious than the court did.

That may not have been a matter for the court, but some will feel the punishment of Guernsey courts does not always fit the crime.

Those reservations are compounded if there is a perception the state has sided with its established church.

In these secular times there is something disturbingly anachronistic about one religion commanding what might be considered to be a favoured position.