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Rev'd Jack Harris |
Priest swaps collar for a lawyer's wig
‘I want to fight for asylum seekers’
says reverend
A PRIEST is swapping the pulpit for the court room in a return
to his life as a lawyer – in order to fight for the rights
of asylum seekers.
Reverend Jack Harris, 56, of St Peter’s Church, Belsize
Park, delivers his final service on Sunday although he will
remain a “roving” vicar. He says he wants to help
asylum seekers and immigrants, whom he says are treated badly
in England.
The vicar, who came to Belsize Park in 1996 said: “What
drew me was coming into contact with people, and seeing their
frustration. There’s a propensity for suicide on the part
of asylum seekers.
“I feel strongly about how they are being treated. They
are not welcomed properly or given proper hospitality and I
want to do what I can to make things better.”
He says his legal knowledge has come in useful during his 20
years in the church. He added: “I kept up my interest in
law. I always found it useful in advising parishioners who had
legal problems. But I got most involved with refugees and asylum
seekers and immigrants generally. They often don’t have
access to proper legal representation.”
He is currently involved in a case expected to reach the European
Court of Human Rights.
He said: “Earlier last year I looked at the new rules about
marriage where one of the parties isn’t a British national.
I spotted this loophole which exempted people who get married
in the Church of England, exempting them from all the rules.
It’s possible that this will go to the European Court for
clarification.”
Revd Harris, who is particularly interested in building up relations
between different faiths, has worked side-by-side with Rabbi
Rodney Mariner, of neighbouring Belsize Square Synagogue for
many years.
The two have become good friends and Rabbi Mariner recently
honoured his friend’s retirement with a presentation of
a plaque made from one of the synagogue’s fallen trees,
which stood on the site of St Peter’s Old Vicarage, now
the home of the synagogue.
For now, Revd Harris is concentrating on saying goodbye to parishioners
and working on small cases to refresh his memory.
He said: “I thought this would be my last chance. I’ve
been quite amazed by how easy it is to fit back into things.
There’s more and more a need for human rights lawyers.”
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