The Church of England has labelled income
inequality "evil" in a scathing assessment of the coalition, in which
it questions how David Cameron has allowed entire communities to be "cast
aside."
In one of the Church's biggest ever political
interventions, timed to coincide with the general election campaign, the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York said valuing communities on purely economic
output was a "fundamental sin", and claimed Britain has become
dominated by consumerism and selfishness.
In a video to launch the collection of essays in
his new book Rock or Sand?, which includes a contribution from the Archbishop
of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, admitted
the Church was making a political intervention but said it was not trying to be
party political, despite remarks being clearly aimed at coalition policies.
Dr Sentamu said the UK faced a "deep, deep
economic crisis" during the last four and-a-half years and said inequality
trapped "hard-working" families on "poverty wages".
An extract from Archbishop Welby's essay,
published in the Daily Telegraph, also criticises the "un-Christian"
principle of of what is known as Social Darwinism - "every person for
themselves", and said while London and the South East are growing
economically, "entire cities are being cast aside" and left to
decline.
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