Bishop Thorne and Edward "Eddie" Horniman in “The Bigger Picture”

Do you know what Jesus said to the vendors when he cast them out of the temple? He said to them, "It is written." "My house shall be called a house of prayer..."

"And you shall make it a den of thieves." I couldn't agree more. You shouldn't hijack people's beliefs in the Almighty for one's own profit.

You're new.

Yes. I was voted in a couple of weeks ago.

Hereditary. Quite rare these days. Not as rare as bishops.

[chuckles] I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming bill.

I gather you're tight with Lord Hawthorne. I must say, you're very ambitious to champion a piece of legislation so early on in your career.

Well, I happen to believe that there are various social and economic benefits to legalizing mɑrіjսɑnɑ.

It's a gateway drսg, Your Grace. Have you been to the rehabilitation centers and met the people whose lives have been ruined?

Yes, I have. My brother happens to be in one right now.

Is that your motivation? The personal angle? Or is it just a narrative flourish you use to sweet-talk the support?

[chuckles] Well, you're certainly very cynical for one with such profound belief.

And you're very naive if you think you can persuade the Church of England to support decriminalization.

I'm merely here to see if there's a way you and I can help each other out. I wanted to talk to you about your son.

Sorry, what did you say?

Oscar. I heard he's got himself into a spot of bother.

[gets up] I think this meeting's run its course.

Let's not be too hasty. Just hear me out, please.

My son has got nothing to do with any of this.

I am aware of that, but I'm also aware that I need your help getting this bill through. And I think I can help him get out of his troubles. So please, tell me what happened.

My son is a very determined individual. He works in property. [sighs] Everything was going very well up until a few months ago. He got involved in a new development. He ended up borrowing money from some disreputable lenders to buy some obnoxious monstrosity out near Ascot. He contacted me three weeks ago, asking to borrow money to repay them. I gave him all I had, but then he called a week later asking for more. I said no. I'm very worried. I... I haven't seen him since. He isn't returning my calls.

Well, believe it or not, I've had some success in the past dealing with this sort of problem. Why don't you let me carry your burden, and, if I succeed, you can help carry mine?