They’ve seen the light! Bishops abandon trendy leftie causes
THE leaders of the Church of England yesterday climbed down from years of political radicalism and support for Left-wing causes.
Its two senior archbishops sent an election letter to the faithful in which they abandoned their previous criticism of the Trident nuclear deterrent, their opposition to military intervention in the Middle East, and their support for European unity.
Instead, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend John Sentamu, praised the virtues of stability – the quality that Theresa May has tried to turn into the watchword of her campaign.
The two archbishops accepted that largescale immigration is ‘not without cost’ and added: ‘We should not be deaf to the legitimate concerns that have been expressed about the scale of population flows and the differential impact it has on different parts of society.’ They also found room in the three pages of guidance to call for support for the institution of marriage, which they described as ‘a blessing for the whole of society’.
Advice to churchgoers on how to vote put out by the CofE before the election in 2015 ran to 53 pages but failed to make a single mention of marriage.
The most specific political helping hand in the archbishops’ latest document was held out towards Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who has come under fire for his Christian evangelical beliefs.
Archbishops Welby and Sentamu said: ‘If we aspire to a politics of maturity and generosity, then the religious faith of any election candidate should not be treated by opponents as a vulnerability to be exploited.’
The election letter is a retreat from the Left-wing position first adopted by the CofE in the 1980s, when its 1985 report on poverty called Faith in the City was denounced by one of Margaret Thatcher’s ministers as ‘Marxist’.
Yesterday’s document said Christians should pray for political leaders.
‘If our shared British values are to carry the weight of where we now stand and the challenges ahead of us, they must have at their core, cohesion, courage and stability,’ the archbishops said. ‘Stability, an ancient and Benedictine virtue, is about living well with change.
‘Stable communities will be skilled in reconciliation, resilient in setbacks and diligent in sustainability, particularly in relation to the environment.
‘To our concern for housing, health and education as foundations for a good society, we add marriage, the family and the household as foundational communities, which should be nurtured and supported.’