Archbishop of Canterbury's New Year message

Archbishop of Canterbury's New Year message: Children are worth more than money

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on society to recognise that children are more valuable than money in his New Year message.

 

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent 
Last Updated: 9:41PM GMT 31 Dec 2008

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has received support from other leading bishops over the disestablishment of Church and state. Photo: PA

Dr Rowan Williams said he realised that many people fear losing their jobs or their homes as recession looms.

But he warned that "our hearts would be in a very bad way" if we worried more about our finances than the welfare of our fellow human beings, in particular the young and vulnerable.

It is the latest in a series of comments made by the most senior cleric in the Church of England about the dangers to society of the growing economic crisis.

As the banking sector unravelled in September, Dr Williams claimed that Karl Marx had been right about the consequences of unbridled capitalism.  more

Archbishop: Put aside your principles and remember: All you need is love

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, writing in "Put aside your principles and remember: All you need is love," in the London Daily Telegraph Dec. 21, 2008.

Free love

"The God of the Christmas story (and the rest of the Gospels) doesn't relate to us on the basis of any theory, but on the basis of unconditional love and welcome. That act of free love towards the entire human race changed things - even for those who didn't and don't share all the beliefs and doctrines of Christianity. And for those who do share those convictions, loving God and one another is a defiance of all programs and principles designed to preserve only the well-being of people like us.

"All of us, Christians most definitely included, have problems living up to this. But that's one reason why we tell this story repeatedly, the story of the 'unprincipled' God who values what others don't notice, who relates to people we'd all rather forget, whose appeal is to everyone because He has made everyone capable of loving response. At least once a year we all - Christians or non-Christians - need to hear again that permission to be free from principles so that we can ask the question about specific human lives and destinies, about the unacceptable cost of programs and systems when they are only about me and people like me.

"And when that question is asked, says [Swiss theologian] Karl Barth in his sermon, what begins to come through is 'the eternal light that requires neither fuel nor candlestick.'"  Reference

repentance means getting a new perspective

Archbishop Rowan Williams welcomes credit crunch 'reality check'
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Dr Williams went on: "I would like to think that in this sort of crisis people would be reflecting more on how you develop a volunteer culture, how you develop a culture of people willing to put their services at the needs of others so that there can be a more active, a more vital civil society."

The archbishop called on the Government to give more of a lead on "how the civil society is created".

Dr Williams expressed concerns over the Prime Minister's "fiscal stimulus" package, which included cutting VAT to get the public spending again.

Questioned on whether increased spending was the right way to tackle the downturn, he said: "It seems a little bit like the addict returning to the drug.

"When the Bible uses the word 'repentance', it doesn't just mean beating your breast , it means getting a new perspective, and that is perhaps what we are shrinking away from."

The archbishop added: "It is about what is sustainable in the long term and if this is going to drive us back into the same spin, I do not think that is going to help us."

He said people should not "spend to save the economy", but instead spend for "human reasons" - to provide for their own needs. read it all