Bishops respond to CofE Newspaper

By Alex Singleton | 22 April 2005

Three Anglican Bishops have written to the Church of England Newspaper over its coverage of 'trade justice':

We were surprised that you gave such prominence last week (April 15) to a report from the Globalisation Institute designed to undermine Christian support for the Global Week of Action for trade justice. Our surprise was heightened by reading another article in the same edition arguing against the concept of "trade justice."

While it is quite proper for different interest groups bodies to argue and defend their case, it ill behoves your paper to espouse such an overtly partisan position over which there can be legitimately different views.

Your readers deserve better. Quite apart from anything else, there are many people who accept the idealism of free trade, but who are convinced that there is little evidence at present to support its theories. It is rather, like GK Chesterton said of Christianity, not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has not yet been tried.

The time for Western pundits to declaim in favour of free trade is when Britain, the European Union and the United States of America have stopped subsidising their own producers and exporters.

We write as three bishops who have recently visited Senegal and have witnessed at first hand the iniquities of the present system. It is obviously true that many factors are involved and questions of governance, corruption and the like must be addressed, but these are not the only issues; natural and environmental problems also play their part. But when all these matters have been considered, the playing field for trade is anything but level. Let us by all means argue for free trade, but let it be genuinely free trade.

The Rt Rev John Hind (Bishop of Chichester)
The Rt Rev Michael Langrish (Bishop of Exeter)
The Rt Rev Tony Robinson (Bishop of Pontefract)

I actually agree with some of the sentiment here, but just because Europe and America hinder the growth in their economies, that doesn't mean poor countries should their hinder growth to an even larger degree. Yet this is exactly what they are doing.

Meanwhile, in the same paper, the Rt Rev James Langstaff (Bishop of Lynn) writes:

I was at the 'Wake up to Trade Justice' overnight vigil and attended a debate around this issue. What interested me was the degree of agreement between two of the main speakers, Alex Singleton (whose recent report you quote at length) and Martin Khor of the Third World Network. They were meant to be on opposite sides of the debate, but the degree of common ground suggests that it may not be quite so much of an either/or - though both sides also have their more extreme advocates as well. Perhaps there's scope for some creative thinking here and maybe the churches could make it possible.

Now, if only we could get Christian Aid to engage in the topic more constructively...