Justin Welby denounces ‘unethical’ treatment of migrants and warns Church of England leaders ‘are among the oppressors’ if they don’t act
- Archbishop of Canterbury spoke to Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops
- In latest political intervention, he told Church of England leaders to ‘take risks’
- Former oil director called climate change an ‘undeclared war’
- It came after he used his Easter sermon to denounce the Rwanda asylum agreement
The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged Anglican bishops to speak out against the ‘unethical treatment’ of migrants and climate change.
In his last highly political intervention, Justin Welby encouraged Church of England leaders to “take risks” and warned that if they do nothing, they would become “one of the oppressors.”
The former oil director called climate change an “undeclared war” and warned it could create 1.2 billion refugees with consequences “more tragic than anything in human history.” “To be silent about the unethical treatment of migrants or about war or oppression, about the violation of human rights, about persecution, is one of the oppressors,” he told the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops.
Archbishop of Canterbury has urged Anglican bishops to speak out against ‘unethical treatment’ of migrants and climate change
He said his attitude was ’embedded’ in the establishment and had ‘at times tempted us in the Church of England to get too close’, adding: ‘Not so much these days, I think both the Cabinet and myself.’ It came after he used his Easter sermon to denounce Interior Minister Priti Patel’s asylum agreement in Rwanda.
The Archbishop continued: “Climate change, better known as the climate crisis or better yet the climate emergency, as we know, is the result of the wealthier nations declaring war on God’s creation, unconsciously, thoughtlessly from the 19th century onwards.
“The symptoms of that war are now that the affluent garbage dumps are pouring into the oceans.
In his last highly political intervention, Justin Welby encouraged Church of England leaders to “take risks” and warned that if they do nothing, they will “become one of the oppressors.”
“They tell the poor not to use carbon-producing fuels and too often they tell the world, not by their word but by their actions, ‘We will keep our wealth and you, the poor, must discover new ways.'”
He said the Rwanda proposal “would not stand the judgment of God”, adding that there were “serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers abroad”.
His criticism, and similar private comments reportedly made by Prince Charles, led Prime Minister Boris Johnson to acknowledge that the Rwanda deal had drawn scorn from “somewhat unexpected quarters.”