Bishops blame Cameron for food bank crisis

[LeftishBrit]

Last edited Tue Feb 25, 2014, 03:45 AM - Edit history (1)

...In one of the most significant political interventions by leading members of the Church of England since the Faith in the City report in 1985, 25 of its bishops have blamed "cutbacks to and failures in the benefit system" for forcing people to use food banks. They are joined by two bishops from the Church in Wales, 14 Methodist districts chairs and two Quakers.

In an open letter published in the Daily Mirror on Thursday, the faith leaders write: "We must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using food banks have been put in that situation by cutbacks to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions."...

.....
The Anglican bishops express astonishment that people can be going hungry in the world's seventh richest country. They say that 500,000 people have visited food banks since Easter last year, 5,500 have been admitted to hospital with malnutrition and 20% of mothers are "skipping meals to better feed their children".

The bishops write: "We often hear talk of hard choices. Surely few can be harder than that faced by the tens of thousands of older people who must 'heat or eat' each winter, harder than those faced by families whose wages have stayed flat while food prices have gone up 30% in just five years. Yet beyond even this we must, as a society, face up to the fact that over half of people using food banks have been put in that situation by cutbacks to and failures in the benefit system, whether it be payment delays or punitive sanctions."

(More at link):

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/20/bishops-blame-cameron-food-bank-crisis

I'm not an Anglican, or any religion at all - but Hear! Hear!

[LeftishBrit]

1. And of course the Right are responding like the scumbags they are

I won't even link to Simon Heffer's truly horrible article in the Hate-Mail; but here is Priti Patel, MP being her usual mean-spirited self:

http://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2014/02/from-priti4witham-the-bishops-are-blind-to-the-moral-message-of-idss-gospel-of-work.html


Actually the 'culture of dependency' was introduced by Thatcher et al, who ended the principle of the full-employment state!

[T_i_B]

3. The right wing likes Christianity in theory....

....but all too often they aren't so keen on Christianity in practise.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. They like a hierarchy, and an established church

I think most of them would be happy with any significant religion if they grew up in it, and others were made to obey it too. Religion is a routine to follow, and a way of enforcing existing social norms, for them.

[non sociopath skin]

2. Who will rid the Bullingdon Boys of these turbulent priests?

The Skin