Poverty could destroy society, says Radcliffe

Britain is afflicted by a hidden violence on its poorest citizens that is in danger of destroying society, warned the former master of the Dominicans this week.

That violence is the destruction of people’s lives, caused by inequality, lack of enough income for food, drug addiction, and lack of hope, Fr Timothy Radcliffe said in a lecture given at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.

“If we do not open our eyes to it and respond,” he warned, “then it will surely erupt and destroy our society before long … We must take stands in favour of a taxation system that favours the common good; we must oppose the growing inequality that is tearing apart our country. But we must also find ways to touch the communal imagination.”

Fr Radcliffe’s comments formed part of his lecture, “A Disturbing Truth: the Church, the poor and Oscar Romero”, given both as one of the first events held by the newly formed Westminster Abbey Institute, in its Telling the Truth series, and as this year’s Archbishop Romero Lecture.

An audience of 600 – which included BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten, former president of the family division of the High Court of Justice Baroness Butler-Sloss, and Opposition leader Ed Miliband’s chief of staff, Tim Livesey – heard Fr Radcliffe discuss Archbishop Romero’s love of justice and dialogue, and his commitment to the poor of El Salvador who suffered violence at the hands of the Govern­ment. He went on to describe the denigration of the poor today as skivers and parasites, and urged that people should instead respect the dignity and courage of the marginalised. “Our flourishing is inseparable from theirs,” he said. “If the poor are shut out or humiliated, we do not discern the body of Christ.” Christians should, he said, be prepared to be white martyrs, constantly giving of themselves.

The Romero Lecture was also due to be given this week by Fr Radcliffe in Manchester and Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, on 24 October, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spoke at the conference Blueprint for Better Business, an initiative of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, on ethical finance. He called for more support of smaller businesses including those in the north-east and north-west.