Just as a BA failed in Britain used to be the equivalent of a BA with honours in India, being poor in Canada is the equivalent of extravagant wealth in the Sudan.
As it happens, though, even the “poor” in Canada are much better off than they were 20 years ago.
Read more about it here.
If this this continues, the Anglican Church will lose its one of its main raison d’etres: advocating on behalf of the poor. All it will have left is global warming. And that is on thin ice.
Making silly statements about politics and finance is not the exclusive domain of Anglicans: the Pope, presumably feeling left out, is about to play the politically correct financial morologist himself:
In Charity in Truth, which should be released next week, he is expected to point out the failings of capitalism and lament the world’s roiling markets, exploited workers and the harsh disparity between rich and the poor.
Indeed, commenting earlier this year on the global economic collapse, Pope Benedict said the Church must “denounce the fundamental errors that have now been revealed in the collapse of the major American banks. Human greed is a form of idolatry that is against the true God, and is a falsification of the image of God with another god, Mammon.”
The problem with this is that capitalism, for all its faults, is the only system that has ever managed to produce wealth for the benefit of both the rich and the poor. If the Pope wants to be “on the side of the poor and the disadvantaged” it might be a good idea to be less critical of capitalism which does a moderately good job of holding the consequences of greed in check, and more critical of socialism, which does not.
Surely the real problem is, [f]or the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils – (1Tim 6:10) – and the love of money – human greed – afflicts the wealthy and poor alike. If the Pope were really interested in helping the poor, he would be working to encourage democracy, freedom and capitalism in countries ruled by corrupt tyrannies, and for individuals – wealthy or poor – get to the root of the problem by emphasising the truth of the gospel.
This is on the website of the Niagara diocese:
The current Canadian Government has called an election for October 14th 2008. The Church does not take any positions on the various parties and candidates that are running. Obviously each ballot that is cast, must be done so according to the conscience of the individual.
However, as a Christian community and as an Anglican Church we can at least pose questions that should be addressed during the upcoming weeks.
The first thing that we would like to do is encourage every citizen in this country to exercise their responsibility to vote. We all must contribute to the future of Canada by exercising our vote.
Secondly, we will place some resources as they come available in the column on the right. These are for discussion and they are guides.
There is only one entry on the ‘Resources’ sidebar: Eight Ways to Make Poverty an Election Issue
Which, when you click on it, takes you to the website of Make Poverty History.
Now, gently reader, take a wildly haphazard guess as to which political party endorses Make Poverty History?
Why, the NDP, of course!
“The NDP will continue to work with progressive parliamentarians from all political parties and civil society efforts such as the Make Poverty History campaign dedicated to ending poverty around the world and here in Canada, to make 0.7 by 2015 a reality,” said McDonough.
I bet that comes as a shock to everyone. And, of course, it makes nonsense of the statement above “The Church does not take any positions on the various parties and candidates that are running”
Which brings me to the point of all this: the Anglican Church of Canada has ceased to be a Christian organisation; instead it is a political one, albeit a particularly ineffective specimen.
c/p Essentials blog
The song goes like this:
Hello Dalida!
Hello
What are you doing?
I’m dancing
Dancing the fox-trot, the polka?
No, no, i’m dancing the lambeth walkWhat?
The lambeth walk!
Which makes a lot more sense than the escapades of a bunch of ponced up in purple, middle-aged, ersatz hippy pseuds.
I would be marginally more convinced of the good intentions of the the illustrious enpurpled participants if, after exerting themselves (well most of them – Ralph Spence had to be carried in a rickshaw) on behalf of the world’s starving, they had not settled down at a marquee at Lambeth Place to gorge themselves on cold lemon and thyme scented breast of chicken with fresh asparagus and porcini mushroom relish, summer bean and coriander, tomato, basil and mozzarella served with hot minted new potatoes. To follow: dark chocolate and raspberry tart with raspberry ripple ice cream, topped off with coffee and white chocolate raspberries. To drink: Pino Grigio or Shiraz, or cranberry and elderflower fruit punch.
It’s hard being a bishop, especially when you are trying to convince the government of a secular society to spend more of their taxpayers’ money on the poor. Burp.
