I am currently in Sri Lanka with our diocesan link bishop. I hadn't realised when we arrived yesterday in an almighty thunderstorm that this might be the mood left behind in England by the letter from bishops to the Prime Minister about refugees.
The storm is predictable, though some of the response by the commentariat is disappointingly knee-jerk.
First, the bishops agreed the letter to David Cameron some weeks ago. It was kept private. We were promised a response. Is not five weeks quite a long time to wait, especially as we were told we would hear soon?
Secondly, we were clear that we are not against the government, but responsible for asking the moral questions. To be portrayed (by some people who should know better) as anti-Conservative is wrong, lazy and ridiculous. Every government of every shade thinks the church is against them. Our job is not to be popular or to go with the flow – of culture or power – but to tell the truth, even if we might eventually be proved wrong in some things.
Thirdly, many dioceses are now already looking at how we might support refugee families in our areas, including issues of housing. Some are further down the road than others.
Fourthly, comments about how the bishops should get their own house in order before “lecturing the rest of us” should be recognised for what they are. No one is “lecturing” anyone. It was a letter. Spot the difference? And it was a letter directed to a particular person, not “the rest of us” – unless the commentators themselves are identifying so closely with the government that you have to question the independence of their judgement.
The focus of this argument (that I can only witness from a vast distance and with intermittent wifi) should be on the plight of refugees (see previous posts and my article in the Yorkshire Post) and the causes of their plight. Arguing about which bishops are targets is a mere distraction.
Colombo yesterday, Kandy today. Tomorrow we move on to the north and Jaffna. Much of the conversation revolves around the recently ended civil war and questions of the church's role in reconciliation. It is funny how similar questions about the relationship between church and state keep arising – as well as bishops' prophetic responsibility to not keep quiet for fear of upsetting the powers.
The photo above is of the notice on our hotel window in Kandy. It doesn't spell out whether it is addressed to the guests or simply alerting us to an animal problem.
October 19, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Hi Nick…
Hope you are coping with the duality of life in Sri Lanka and the concerns over the plight of the refugees in Europe!
I guess the conflicts in Sri Lankas past and present may seem even more overwhelming than the simmering cauldron of homeless migrants that Europe is facing – conflicts within Sri Lanka arising from political corruption, unemployment, failure of law and order, politicisation of institutions, the violence of the mis-led, encouraged by anti-social politicians, ethno-religious extremists and opportunist nationalists…yes, a loss of over 100,000 lives over the years..!
But the hundreds of thousands of lives that Europe may have to save is indeed a critical social plight on an enormous and seemingly overwhelming scale.
We have all read the many reasons for caution, and we have all read that not one individual, Bishop or Politician claims to know the answer, beyond finding a way to provide food, shelter and safety for all this desperate mass of humanity.
In this country, our country, I personally believe that it is not a question of how, where or when! ‘We’ unfortunately have a very deep rooted, almost a resigned belief that, whichever Government has tackled Immigration or border control, that ‘we’ are incapable of ‘managing’, ‘recording’ or tracking’, those temporary visitors that are deemed temporary, whether asylum seekers, refugees or political migrants, irrespective of scale.
This complete lack of confidence and the admission by all Governments that they cannot provide accurate immigration statistics, leaves the citizens of this country in a strange stale-mate of inaction, however well meaning they intend to be.
I, along with thousands of others believe that we can find a solution, a duty of care within our borders…but, with such large numbers involved, even including those assessed from overseas, how do we balance this vital humanitarian care with an inability to meet responsible accountability….
Perhaps it doesn’t matter, for as Angela Merkel said, Germany is set to lose its culture – its 21st century identity…What more can, or should a European country lose to ensure that it doesn’t become the Levite that passes by on the other side?
October 19, 2015 at 10:58 pm
From a 2nd century Syrian Bishop to a 21st century Syrian Archbishop seems a long stretch. However the comments of the Bishop of Aleppo in today’s Times newspaper are meaningful. The Archbishop of Aleppo has urged Europeans to look to the communities in Syria which suffer when the people leave, and ask us to focus instead on finding peace. ‘ I do not contest the right or Christian duty to call for a charitable act, but it is not just a question of accommodating people.’. It’s a thought.
As for Sri Lanka, the Church there has a long-standing reputation for peace-building and counselling as the faith which includes both Sinhala and Tamil people. Their task continues.
Love the ‘monkeys’ notice! At a children’s birthday party recently at one of the Children’s Homes, a monkey leapt into the room , stole a piece of cake, and ran off. Pandemonium! The warden keeps a catapult handy.
October 21, 2015 at 4:56 pm
[…] the furore over the bishops' letter to the Prime Minister about refugees, I was asked to put pen to paper for the Yorkshire Post to explain why I agreed to be a signatory. […]