Bishop's letters: August 04 +Graham The Archbishops and the Conscience of the Nation

What part should bishops and archbishops play in calling for good government action?

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote in strong terms to the Prime Minister about Iraq, at the end of June, writing on behalf of all the bishops of the Church of England. Do we think that this is a right and appropriate thing to do?

As we might expect, the letter emphasises the priority of rebuilding the country of Iraq. But the area of greatest concern in the letter is the breach of acceptable moral standards in the treatment of Iraqi detainees. It says:

‘The credibility of coalition partners in advocating respect for the law and the peaceful resolution of disputes will, we fear, be undermined unless the necessary moral authority is clearly demonstrated at every level.’

The implication of the letter is that we are hardly in a position to condemn ‘murderous and arbitrary violence’ in acts of terrorism if we are breaching moral standards in the treatment of detainees. This breach, it says, is deeply damaging to the credibility of recent Western action.

‘The appearance of double standards inevitably diminishes the credibility of Western governments with the people of Iraq and of the Islamic world more generally’

We can be sure that Mr. Blair himself will be deeply embarrassed by the reports of the treatment of some detainees, as will most British people. We know that it is not acceptable to treat any person so as to take away their dignity.

The Church always has a duty before God to hold a nation to what is good and right, according to the Christian Faith. When it fails to do that with sufficient clarity, as in Germany during the rise of Naziism, the consequences can be terrible. From time to time the Church must sound a clear call to those with political authority calling them to do what is right.

There are some who want the Church to call for moral standards in personal behaviour, such as honesty and marriage faithfulness, but not to call for good and right standards in issues of government policy. This is a completely false separation. We cannot separate personal and national morality. If there is a God, he is concerned for what is good and right in his world. This includes the way we order our society for the Common Good. Political issues such as whether to go to war, racism, world debt, international aid and taxation policies are just as legitimate an area for Christian leaders to comment on, as well as the familiar issues of personal morality.

Inevitably such comment may appear to take sides in the political debate. When I make comments relating to political action I always try to make it clear that the concern is for right policies, whichever party acts to implement them.

I believe that we shall continue to hear from our archbishops, pressing the case for right moral action on the world scene. They deserve our full support.

+Graham