Bishops slam 'morally corrupt' Government

[BASEL]

Leading bishops have delivered a damning assessment of Labour's record in power, branding the Government "morally corrupt".

Five senior figures from the Church of England warned that the country was suffering from family breakdown, an addiction to debt and a growing gap between rich and poor.

The bishops of Durham, Winchester, Manchester, Carlisle and Hulme accused ministers of squandering their opportunity to transform society and pursuing "scandalous" policies.

The interventions, in separate interviews in a Sunday newspaper, came after the Archbishop of Canterbury launched an extraordinary public attack on the Government last week.

Dr Rowan Williams said Gordon Brown's plans to spend more in order to tackle the recession were like an "addict returning to the drug", and suggested the economy had been going in the wrong direction for decades.

The Rt Rev Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, berated ministers for not doing enough to help the poor since 1997.

He said: "Labour made a lot of promises, but a lot of them have vanished into thin air. We have not seen a raising of aspirations in the last 13 years, but instead there is a sense of hopelessness.

"While the rich have got richer, the poor have got poorer. When a big bank or car company goes bankrupt, it gets bailed out, but no one seems to be bailing out the ordinary people who are losing their jobs and seeing their savings diminished."

The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, criticised Labour for encouraging people to get further into debt.

"The Government has acted scandalously. This is not just an economic issue, but a moral one. It's about what we value," he said.

"The Government believes that money can answer all of the problems and has encouraged greed and a love of money that the Bible says is the root of all evil.

"It's morally corrupt because it encourages people to get into a lifestyle of believing they can always get what they want."

The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, the Bishop of Hulme, said: "The Government isn't telling people who are already deep in debt to stop overextending themselves, but instead is urging us to spend more. That is morally suspect and morally feeble.

"It is unfair and irresponsible of the Government to put pressure on the public to spend in order to revive the economy."

He suggested they were cynically attempting to improve the economy in time for the next general election.

"They are trying to take the credit for this, but are playing with people's livelihoods in the process."


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