Primate’s fears for our ‘credit crunch’ society
Thursday, 23 October 2008
The Most Rev Alan Harper addresses the Armagh Diocesan Synod in Armagh yesterday (Tuesday).
CHURCH of Ireland Primate, the Most Rev Alan Harper OBE, has warned of the serious repercussions of the so-called 'credit crunch' on both the Church and society.
And he has also said that now is not the time for the Northern Ireland Executive to find itself "paralysed" and unable to function.
The Archbishop of Armagh was speaking at Church House yesterday (Tuesday) in his Presidential Address to the Armagh Diocesan Synod.
The Most Rev Harper said: "For an institution like the Church of Ireland, especially in the context of its overall financial resources, the huge fluctuations - and mostly decline - in the capital value of assets is a very serious matter, especially for the Clergy Pension Fund.
“Capital values are not the only issue of course; dividend payments - the money earned from investments held - are an equally serious issue. A fall in investment incomes in the event of recession will have serious effects on our central and local church budgets.
“This would be a serious enough situation if only the funds of the Church were affected, but the truth is that real and serious effects will also be felt by many vulnerable people - those with serious levels of debt, those whose jobs are threatened, those in negative equity situations, those on fixed or even declining incomes, the homeless and other vulnerable people.
“I well remember a poster displayed a year or two ago by the Simon Community, which pointed out that most people are only one or two pay packets away from homelessness. Every parish, as well as the Church at diocesan and central level, is challenged to examine whether, and in what ways, it can be supportive and pastorally sensitive to those experiencing stress, trauma and hardship, made worse by the prevailing economic conditions.
“This is hardly a time, you might think, for the Northern Ireland Executive to find itself paralysed and unable to address devolved issues.
“My purpose today is not to carp and criticise. Everyone knows that politics, as 'the art of the possible', presents particularly difficult challenges in Northern Ireland; indeed, few people thought that we would have made as much progress as we have in developing and embedding a completely unique system of government".
But Archbishop Harper said he believed that "we should urge those in positions of political responsibility to move rapidly to resume their functions".
He went on: "This is vital, not least because, apart from the global issues that impact the local scene, there are important local issues that require intensive attention.
“Foremost among these, obviously, is the adoption of a programme for the devolution of policing and justice powers, but of no less importance are matters concerning education, housing, health provision and provision for mental health services, including the needs of those with. We are talking here about matters of social wellbeing and public safety".
The Primate said it was important that the churches make their contribution to the shaping of a new future, but government must work to moving the whole community forward.
Said the Most Rev Harper: "However, if the Executive continues to fail to meet, my fear is that the vacuum so created, and the sharpness of the issues that remain unaddressed, will permit malign or extreme influences to gain ever more ground.
“We have already seen a significant escalation in acts designed to heighten tension. There have also been very serious attempts to kill or maim people, including actions directed specifically against the police. The longer this vacuum is allowed to continue, the more likely it is that mischief makers will attempt to capitalise on the situation, evoking a hardening of attitudes where communities feel themselves under threat.
“Real political progress, engineered and driven by locally elected public representatives, is now imperative. It would be a supreme irony if demands that the abortion issue to be dealt with locally were to be totally invalidated by the inability of the devolved administration to exercise the responsibility it is claiming for itself.
“In fact, we require from government a renewal of focused attention to the task of moving the whole community forward, in particular towards the articulation of a shared vision for a shared future.
“Central to such a vision should be concepts that include equality, mutuality, inclusivity and participation. This will require a more generous mind than one which embraces only narrow and sectional interests.
“In order to work towards such a vision there has to be engendered a sense that the opinions, the needs, the hopes, the aspirations and expectations of ordinary people are understood, which, of course, means heard. And, when I say 'heard', I imply that attention needs to be given to enabling the views of ordinary people to be skillfully articulated".
