RIGHT BETWEEN MOTHER THERESA AND PRINCESS DI

In a poll of Brits, Jesus ranks second behind Mother Theresa and just above Princess Diana as the most compassionate person in history:

Mother Teresa is seen as more caring than Christ, a survey to identify the most compassionate person from history indicated today. Princess Diana has been ranked third, followed by Florence Nightingale. Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Bob Geldof come joint fifth. Mr Tony Blair is at the bottom of the table, just below the Pope.

While the findings may signify no more than the ascendancy of the contemporary media over the power of the pulpit and a widespread ignorance of history, a spokeswoman for Crisis, a charity that commissioned the survey, said the results seemed to indicate a growing public-unease and confusion about the value of compassion.

And that goes a long way toward explaining where our culture is.