Ethical reminder

The five UK Anglican Archbishops have spoken out together, strongly criticising the government's post brexit Internal Markets Bill which makes room for a unilateral breach of treaty obligations arising from the Good Friday agreement. At last! Following the example set by Welsh, Irish and Scottish devolved parliaments, rather than giving a prophetic lead. It didn't take long for a handful of opinionated people to weigh in with the usual meme about not mixing religion with politics. But this statement is not as much about political policy as about legality and ethical integrity. I quote:

“If carefully negotiated terms are not honoured and laws can be ‘legally’ broken, on what foundations does our democracy stand? We urge lawmakers to consider this Bill in the light of values and principles we would wish to characterise relationships across these islands long after the transition period.”

Justin Welby has also been outspoken in the House of Lords

Politics must not be reduced to “raw majority power unleashed” that normalises law-breaking" he warned. "The UK will suffer great harm, and peace between the home nations will be compromised."

Underlying this outspokenness is pastoral concern about the impact of government policies on the well being of all citizens, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged. He also says:

“There is no watertight door in relationships between economics and constitutional issues. They overflow from one into the other.”

Pope Francis has for much of his papacy has given a global lead and spoken out on behalf of the poor and challenged the morality of unbridled accumulation of wealth and power. In his latest encyclical 'Fratelli tutti' he warns against the dangers of populist politics. I'm tempted to say to Anglican leaders, "What took you so long?", but that would be unfair. The pandemic has taken an enormous amount of time and energy to address pastorally, overshadowing brexit fall-out. The media are often very selective  and superficial in reporting what church leaders actually say, because of the view that a weakened church in decline has nothing much to say of interest, apart from the occasion curious, bizarre or dramatically sensational tale. It's the marginalised and weak, however, the 'voice crying in the wilderness' that may deliver unpalatable truths about our world we most need to hear.