Bishop says 'don’t cut compassion from society'

Don’t cut compassion from society poster

The Bishop of Manchester, The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, has made a call for politicians not to cut compassion from society and released a provocative poster to illustrate the point.

Speaking at a meeting of the Manchester Diocesan Synod on Saturday (21 November), the bishop emphasised that the Church of England is not an arm of the opposition, nor a wing of government, but this did not mean the Church should be mute.

Discussing the basis for policy, at a local and national level, the bishop said: “The government has chosen to use the word “fairness” in promoting many of its policies, and has sought to advance a quasi-moral and ethical debate on that basis. But fair can be a weasel word. For, although it means just and equitable, it is also used in the sense of being mediocre and middling. A further definition of “fair” is unbiased – a concept that fits uneasily with the Christian gospel in which the manifesto of Jesus in Luke 4 points to what has been, and must remain, a considerable feature of Anglican and other Christian ministries: namely a bias to the poor.”

Calling for compassion to become a feature of political debate the bishop highlighted the significance of the word compassion: “Compassion, as we know, is a significant word in the bible – noted in the Old Testament as a quality both divine and human; with its use expanded in the New Testament to be a high feature of Christian discipleship. The Gospels tell us on several occasions that “ the Lord had compassion” on an individual or a multitude; and, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, to take but one example, the father, in welcoming the lost son’s return “had compassion and ran and fell on his neck”.

Drawing from recent examples of cuts, including the proposed removal of bus fares for children attending faith schools, the bishop illustrated how compassion could make a difference: “The truth is that compassion is not always fair – it may mean paying the bus ride for a child to go to school, it may mean providing more support for the weak, it must mean recognising that whilst, clearly, rigorous cuts must be made, those who are especially vulnerable merit exception. Of course this is difficult, and of course there are those who play the system in a manner that is wholly unacceptable and needs to be stopped.”

“I have to say that in all the talk about fairness, I have not heard the words cuts and compassion in the same sentence at all. As a Church, we have a duty to speak up for the voiceless, to protect the vulnerable… For every individual who, through no fault of their own, is weaker, poorer, increasingly unaided, requires our compassion and support. The Big Society may be a good idea, but it must not become a camouflage; and, as I have indicated, nor must the churches, other faiths and voluntary societies (themselves hit by cuts) become a department of government.

“Our calling as a church, in the communities we serve and the nation to which we belong, is to make sure, by the appropriateness of our words and our actions, that compassion is not cut from our society. For without compassion this land will be a mean, selfish and impoverished place. May God save us from that.”