Bishops Letter To Government.

[Theland]

Should the bishops try to intervene in the Internal Markets Bill?
https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-archbishops-warn-of-disastrous-precedent-over-controversial-internal-market-bill-in-rare-joint-letter-12107997

[youngmafbog]

As a body they can write and say what they like.

However they should not be able to influence or intervene any more than any other body.

[ichkeria]

They all have a vote on it

[Old_Geezer]

The more disastrous precedent would be to inform all the other world nations that the UK is so weak it can be manipulated by them. Thus we pass whatever it needs to show that, one picks on the wrong target if one picks on the UK. Devolved legislatures should note that their authority concerns their areas only, and not overall UK matters. Folks from their areas of the nation already represent that area in the UK parliament.

[Khandro]

They have miserably failed to run their churches throughout the corona crisis having let down the church-going community (what is left of it) they seem to think that they now know what is right for the country.

Charlatans, every man-jack of them.

[Theland]

The bishops claim an ethical concern on breaking international law as undemocratic, yet they are unelected.

[ToraToraTora]

they should stay in their churches peddling their cobras. Why do they think spouting religious bow loques every day qualifies them to be involved in any sort of policy decision making?

[Deskdiary]

The clergy should stick to peddling their nonsense on a Sunday and allow the grown-ups to deal with matters such as this.

If they're prepared to believe the nonsense they peddle on a Sunday, then this alone is enough for me that they can be, and should be, ignored.

[ToraToraTora]

good point DD, anyone who believes the pony they peddle should not be listened to anyway. Who next? David Icke?

[HansUrbancka]

The Bishops need to put their 'House of God' in order before interfering with affairs of state.

Hans.

[ichkeria]

Just to repeat: the archbishops are members of the Upper House and therefore like it or not they are part of the legislature.
But even if they were not, they have a perfect right to speak out.

[Old_Geezer]

And a perfect right to have come to a wrong conclusion ;-)

[ichkeria]

One can agree or disagree.
What I deplore is the notion that they should keep quiet.

[woofgang]

Its one of the reasons that I think that we should separate church and state. If our royal family want to follow the church of england then fine. but no church or religious faith should have any more power than any other when it comes to running the country...and I say this as someone who belives in god and regardless of whether I agree with what they have said which I don't know as I haven't read the paper yet.

[Peter Pedant]

we dont have a strict a separation of church and state as they do in France.
the bishops have sets in the Lords and so they have a legislative function - and not only to say at intervals -holy mary mudder of gard

so yes they should

we didnt elect the prime minister but so what
( he was elected by conservative MPs)

[Peter Pedant]

// Its one of the reasons that I think that we should separate church and state.//

well it works tolerably well - so dont fix it I wd say

and anyway wiv covid and Brexit Boris has enough to be getting on with

[Peter Pedant]

// ethical concern on breaking international law//

lots of practice in ethical concern on breaking child protection laws
so the bish thought - well what can I do now we have solved that one? .....

[ichkeria]

I can’t see that that matters. Although I’m not religious, coming from N Ireland I was always struck by how terrified people in England appeared to be generally by any sort of religion. I remember our local curate, who was no zealot, telling me in all seriousness that England was an “awful pagan place”
If this was a group of business leaders speaking out there would not be the same fuss.

[ToraToraTora]

"If this was a group of business leaders speaking out there would not be the same fuss. " - there would and there is, the CBI get virtually the same short shrift, they may not be religious but they talk the same level of total BS.

[ichkeria]

They do when you don’t agree with them.
We’re all the same there :-)

[woofgang]

the speaking out is one thing, opinions are like bums....its the having special powers to which I object.