Priest on the defensive after ranting about ‘messy’ beggars

An outspoken Catholic priest has defended himself after being condemned for labelling poor people “lying, drug-abusing illegitimates”.

Fr Ray Blake, priest at St Magdalen’s Church in Brighton, East Sussex, in England, wrote a controversial blog post titled ‘The Trouble With The Poor’.

He described the poor as being “lying and messy” people sent by God to test his faith.