The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of
Ireland wish to extend a very warm welcome to the leaders of the G8
nations and their officials as they meet in Co Fermanagh.
We
are fully aware that the problems which the G8 leaders face are complex
and often deep seated, and we acknowledge with thankfulness and
humility the work which all involved in government undertake for our
well being.
We acknowledge also with penitence
that as believers we have often sidelined consideration of economic
affairs as of little relevance to our vocation. This has led not only to
apathy about economic debate, but also to a refusal to face up to our
economic responsibilities as individuals.
From our perspective as religious leaders,
the work of civil government is a holy task and a calling of the most
sacred kind. The equitable management of economic affairs has the
potential to bring many benefits to a de-moralised world.
Speaking
as people of faith we wish to emphasise our belief that there is a
reality even greater than the realities of the State and the Market, and
which stands over both; the reality of the personality of God. Just as
God in ancient Israel took notice of the merchant who used unfair
weights to gain advantage, so he still takes notice of questionable
commercial practice and inequity in economic life today.
It
was for this reason that, at its recent meeting in General Synod, the
Church of Ireland passed a motion recognising the importance of taxation
in developing countries both to provide financial resources to
government and to enhance accountability between a State and its
citizens.
The Synod also supported the call for a
new international accounting standard requiring companies to report on
profits made and taxes paid in every country where they operate.
It
was also at General Synod that the Church of Ireland expressed a very
wholehearted support for the IF Campaign which proposes practical ways
by which much greater equity in food availability can be achieved. It is
an unequivocal good that fewer people should have to go to bed each
night hungry. We would urge the leaders of the G8 to make this
fundamental goal into a reality.
Ireland, North
and South, is experiencing extraordinary difficulties. Ordinary people
from both jurisdictions have felt the heavy weight of austerity
economics, and are in desperate need of a positive vision to guide them
into a secure future.
Although Northern Ireland
remains a much more settled and stable society than it was prior to the
Good Friday Agreement in 1998, it is not a significantly more integrated
one. It is very far from clear how substantial progress can be made in
this area, and again as a Church we must acknowledge our part in
perpetuating the failure to define a common identity for the people of
Northern Ireland.
In the Republic of Ireland
perhaps the most widespread demoralising factor in the lives of ordinary
people is a grave uncertainty over how mortgage arrears are to be dealt
with.
Regardless of what technical difficulties it may have involved,
citizens can’t help but draw a contrast between the treatment of the
Banking Sector compared to the treatment of its clients.
In
the case of the banks heaven and earth were moved to secure survival,
whereas clients have, by and large, been left to the operation of the
market. We acknowledge that the Financial Sector (especially banking) is
not the same as other commercial enterprises. It much more closely
resembles a blood bank, providing a vital resource without which every
other factor in economic and commercial life cannot function.
If
that has been the basis for the special treatment which it has
received, then a complementary emphasis on its special responsibilities
is also needed. Such special responsibilities cannot be worked out
without very open dialogue with both commercial and personal customers.
It
is perhaps one of the strangest and saddest aspects of the world post
2008 that governments, especially governments of wealthy countries, have
not promoted serious discussion of alternative economic models beyond
those of a particular form of financial capitalism.
The
levels of youth unemployment in wealthy countries is not only an
economic disaster, it is also a moral tragedy. The pace of economic
recovery is so slow that, unless some special measures are made to cater
for this generation, they may well be doomed to spending the most
creative and productive years of their lives in a sterile no man’s land
of economic inactivity.
This is an edited version
of a statement issued by the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of
Ireland in advance of the G8 summit next week.
The full text of their
statement is available at http://ireland.anglican.org/news/4618