‘Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost’: Archbishop of Canterbury reflects on the UK riots in his Christmas Day sermon

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 4:55 PM on 25th December 2011

The Archbishop of Canterbury today spoke of the ‘broken bonds and abused trust’ in a British society torn apart by riots and financial speculation.

Delivering his Christmas Day sermon from Canterbury Cathedral, Dr Rowan Williams asked the congregation to learn lessons about ‘mutual obligation’ from the events of the past year.

Dr Williams said: ‘The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society. Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gives his Christmas address at Canterbury Cathedral

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams gives his Christmas address at Canterbury Cathedral

‘Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today’s financial world, the picture is of atoms spinning apart in the dark.’

It is not the first time the Archbishop has referred to last August’s disturbances, which spread from Tottenham, north London, to cities across the country.

Writing in The Guardian this month, Dr Williams spoke about the ‘enormous sadness’ that he felt during the riots.

But he also said the Government should do more to rescue young people ‘who think they have nothing to lose’.

The Church of England has also been caught up in the struggle between anti-capitalist protesters camped in front of St Paul’s Cathedral since October and the Corporation of London, which is fighting a legal battle to disband the campsite.

Tottenham: Silhouetted against a blazing building, riot officers in formation prepare for the next wave of attack during the summer's riots

Tottenham: Silhouetted against a blazing building, riot officers in formation prepare for the next wave of attack during the summer’s riots

After initially giving support to the protesters, the Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s, Dr Giles Fraser, resigned from his position on October 27 following reports suggesting a rift between clergy over what action to take concerning the activists.

And Dr Williams suggested in November he was sympathetic to a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on share and currency transactions.

Today he uses the Book of Common Prayer – which will celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2012 – as an example of how ideas of duty and common interest can be expressed.

The Archbishop quotes the Book of Common Prayer’s Long Exhortation to say: ‘If ye shall perceive your offences to be such as are not only against God but also against your neighbours; then ye shall reconcile yourselves unto them; being ready to make restitution’.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

This old lefty Blairite placeman of a weirdy beardy is shortly to be put out to grass – no doubt to some benighted Oxbridge college where he can continue his mission of boring the pants off colleagues and students with his usual prolix long-winded irrelevant witterings.

The CoE needs to go back to basics. Follow the teachings of Our Lord, and the world would be a better place.
His Grace makes some good points in his sermon today, but I fear that it is too little, too late. The Church of England has long lost it’s path, it has changed for the sake of change and congregations have dwindled on the whole.
Back to following the Scriptures can be the only way forward within the Church, as it was once delivered to the apostles.

Read this, you goatish buffoon, see what people think of you, see the harm you have done, and RESIGN.

may i suggest that leader of the anglican church explain why less then 1% of population go to a c of e church on a sunday. why they themselves are not really trusted. keep coming back to the old chestnut, where is Christ in the church of england. there so much politics and local priests/managers of churches worried about their pensions then serving the people.
i would be then happy to discuss:
Luke 6:42
How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
anytime he likes

‘broken bonds and abused trust’ .. has the bearded one finally seen what is wrong with the church ?

‘Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost’: Rather a perfect description of this Archbishop of Canterbury’s achievement during his term of office.

‘Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.’ Very true that is exactly what the Church of England and its leaders have done for the past fifty years. Long past time that the Church of England put its own house in order before opening their anti British and anti Christian mouths. Where is the Christianity in the leadership of the Church of England? I can see no sign of it. Tolerance of others and their ways may be fine but subservience to anti Christian and anti British ideals no.
The Church of England needs a strong and true Christian leader who practices, preaches and promotes the Christianity as it is in the Bible. This man should be kicked out of the Church of England along with all those who support the promotion of an anti Christian attitude and practices as clearly stated in the Bible, too much subversive anti Christian propaganda comes from many Church of England leaders who dream that they are in politics rather than religious teachers and guides.

Who here is prepared to do anything in the name of God? Gobby witty or condemning comments count for nothing. Accept the teachings of Jesus, love your neighbour and return only good for bad in all circumstances.

Give us a break from the inane utterings of this clown – it’s Christmas!

And Dr Williams suggested in November he was sympathetic to a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on share and currency transactions………In addition to my earlier comment, the Bible preaches about the rich helping the poor in giving charity to the needy. It does not say one should maximise on wealth forget about social responsibilities as we are seeing today whereby the rich get richer the poor get poorer. The church should be setting an example to the EU that saving humanity is more important than saving the euro. They should be telling the EU that God forbids wrongdoing encourages good behaviour. He should be telling the EU that their laws are a contradiction to the Bible. He should take action against vicars who conduct sham weddings other wrongdoings against the Bible. His official messages at Christmas etc. mean nothing if he has lost control of the biblical teachings.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes