The new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, has used his first press conference to attack the G20’s response to the financial crisis.Archbishop Nichols said: “Money in itself will never solve the problem of this financial crisis. We have to look at ways of rebuilding trust into civic life and into public life.”
In a recent article, the outgoing Archbishop of Birmingham wrote: “Soundness in finance depends on trustworthiness of all involved. What we have seen is that trustworthiness corroded by an unfettered desire for profit and by a false belief that the dynamics of the market contain within them sufficient controls on risk taking. Perhaps we know now for sure that there is no ‘hidden hand’ within the market, as proposed by Adam Smith.”
Archbishop Nichols is revered in the Church as a great defender of faith school and adoption agencies, against the advance of secularism.
The out-going leader of England and Wales’ 4.5 million Roman Catholics, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, is 76, and will remain a cardinal until he is 80. The last nine Archbishops of Westminster have all died while holding the post.
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said: “I was just wondering whether I'd reach this day before emulating my predecessors.”
He also spoke enthusiastically of his successor, and said he was glad to hand over to “someone so competent, so compassionate, so experienced.”
Archbishop Nichols gave thanks for the prayers from people in a variety of religious communities.
He said: “We often hear of the challenges facing our country in finding cohesion in the face of great diversity. Our churches are places where people are from a wide variety of different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. They come together, work together and contribute together to the wider good of our society. The Church in this country has a great deal to offer and I hope to do my best to contribute to that project in this new role.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said: “I am delighted to welcome the news of Archbishop Vincent Nichols’ appointment to succeed His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster. He is a thoroughly experienced pastor, already well-known and much appreciated in the archdiocese, with a proven commitment to Christian education, ecumenical co-operation and shared Christian witness to our society.
“I look forward greatly to working more closely with someone who is already a valued friend and colleague. I am confident that we shall be able to continue the warm and close relations between our churches that have developed over recent years, and I wish him every blessing and success in this new ministry.”
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(Source: RI)