Former Visitor Bishop Carl Cooper Finds the Real World Difficult!
In an act of breath taking hypocrisy the CEO of PAVO (Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations) Bishop Carl Cooper in speaking to the BBC critisised the decision by Powys County Council to make a 15% cut in its grant to voluntary organisations before rolling over. Referring to him as Mr instead of his title Bishop the BBC quoted him as saying.
“We were told that the £150,000 in the 2009/10 budget had to be found. That wasn’t negotiable, that wasn’t up for discussion.”
“So what we tried to do on behalf of the (voluntary) sector was to make sure the principles that decisions were made on were principles such as transparency, equitability and fairness.” Read more..
Anyone like myself who has had dealings with Carl Cooper will know that the last thing you will get from him is guess what; transparency, equitability and fairness. Apart from looking after No1 what does he know about principle? His response to any complaint is to dismiss it as being such wild allegations, and as far as negotiation or discussion is concerned you are banging your head against a brick wall, moreover, this man is a serial liar, his word cannot be taken seriously.
Powys County Council is a regular reader of the Lamp Post
Therefore, they know that the day is approaching when Bishop Carl Cooper faces a number of serious allegations under the Charity Act 2006, concerning the misuse of charity funds and false accounting. Morever, if Carl Cooper were a council employee he would have been sacked long ago.
Where is the Protest? - Has Carl Cooper sold out, bottled out, or both?
The BBC broadcast the story on Wales Today, the reporter did a far better job than he did in explaining the catastrophic effect this is going to have on voluntary organisations in Powys and he did it with empathy and conviction.
Carl Cooper should have been screaming from the roof tops over these cuts instead of a pathetic mummy’s boy making a token gesture while rolling over. It seems that every voluntary organisation in Powys has paid the price for ignoring our warning that the appointment of this man was a scandal waiting to happen.
Clash of Cultures
County Councils are accountable to the electorate and if such a decision is unpopular then they can always vote for a new council with new policies. On the other hand getting rid of a bishop who acts as if they are Lord God Almighty is a bit more difficult but it can be done.
What Bishop Carl Cooper also needs to realise is that unlike the Church, County Councils are run on very strict rules and guidelines especially when it comes to finance. If they acted improperly there is always the right to complain to the Ombudsman. Carl Cooper on the other hand abused his power as a bishop to prevent the ordinary person from being able to complain at all, and especially about himself in the knowledge that there is no right of appeal.
Powys County Council sends out a clear message.
It seems as if the ordinary person in need of help is going to get a raw deal from Carl Cooper in more ways than one. As far as being a man of god is concerned we should consider the comment made by Napoleon that it is the job of the church to stop the poor from killing the rich. Putting that into a modern context, we doubt if there are going to be any real objections to such a devastating blow as the church is in effect a corrupt agent of social control.
We have no reason to question the motives or the way in which Powys County Council made their decision. However, what we do know is that Carl Cooper’s reputation would leave PAVO weakened in making any ‘robust’ response, and that he should have been the last person on earth to complain about the process by which they did it.
In our opinion Powys County Council has sent PAVO a clear message that Carl Cooper is not a man they can negotiate with, therefore they should get rid of him. There is more to voluntary work than inviting the Hoy Paloy round to the palace for tea and publicly slamming anybody criticising the church or the establishment. In the real world whereby he is required to make a stand on behalf of the underprivileged, he is hopelessly out of his depth.
