Five senior Church of England bishops slammed the government over the financial crisis, accusing it of being "morally corrupt," according to published comments.
The leading bishops delivered a withering assessment of the centre-left Labour Party's 11 years in office under prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, in separate interviews with The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
The bishops of Manchester, Durham, Winchester, Carlisle and Hulme warned that Britain was suffering from an addiction to debt, family breakdown and a widening gap between rich and poor.
They accused ministers of pursuing "scandalous" policies and reneging on promises.
The attack came as Brown -- the son of a Church of Scotland minister -- prepared to tell the public in his New Year message that Britain would meet the "enormous challenge" of the financial crisis in 2009.
The prime minister was to say that his plan to spend more money to tackle the looming recession was a much better option than not taking any action.
Last week Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, said Brown's plans were like an "addict returning to the drug."
Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, said the government was "beguiled by money" and had acted "scandalously" over the financial crisis by encouraging further debt.
"This is not just an economic issue, but a moral one," he said.
"The government believes that money can answer all of the problems and has encouraged greed and a love of money that the Bible says is the root of all evil.
"It's morally corrupt because it encourages people to get into a lifestyle of believing they can always get what they want.
"We have the poor feeling they have been betrayed and the gap is getting ever greater. Any government of integrity would have exercised restraint, but this has been sadly lacking."
The Sunday Telegraph said the comments reflected a deepening rift on social and moral issues between the government and the Church of England, which is the established state church in the country.
Stephen Lowe, the Bishop of Hulme, said: "The government isn't telling people who are already deep in debt to stop overextending themselves, but instead is urging us to spend more. That is morally suspect and morally feeble."It is unfair and irresponsible of the government to put pressure on the public to spend in order to revive the economy."
Bishop of Winchester Michael Scott-Joynt said: "The government hasn't done anything like enough to help those less well off, particularly in terms of tax redistribution. "It's imperative that this government helps the poorer people and holds the hard-hit communities in its sights, but it seems to have its eye on re-election instead."
Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, said: "Labour made a lot of promises, but a lot of them have vanished into thin air.
"We have not seen a raising of aspirations... but instead there is a sense of hopelessness. While the rich have got richer, the poor have got poorer.
"When a big bank or car company goes bankrupt, it gets bailed out, but no one seems to be bailing out the ordinary people who are losing their jobs and seeing their savings diminished."
The leading bishops delivered a withering assessment of the centre-left Labour Party's 11 years in office under prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, in separate interviews with The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
The bishops of Manchester, Durham, Winchester, Carlisle and Hulme warned that Britain was suffering from an addiction to debt, family breakdown and a widening gap between rich and poor.
They accused ministers of pursuing "scandalous" policies and reneging on promises.
The attack came as Brown -- the son of a Church of Scotland minister -- prepared to tell the public in his New Year message that Britain would meet the "enormous challenge" of the financial crisis in 2009.
The prime minister was to say that his plan to spend more money to tackle the looming recession was a much better option than not taking any action.
Last week Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, said Brown's plans were like an "addict returning to the drug."
Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, said the government was "beguiled by money" and had acted "scandalously" over the financial crisis by encouraging further debt.
"This is not just an economic issue, but a moral one," he said.
"The government believes that money can answer all of the problems and has encouraged greed and a love of money that the Bible says is the root of all evil.
"It's morally corrupt because it encourages people to get into a lifestyle of believing they can always get what they want.
"We have the poor feeling they have been betrayed and the gap is getting ever greater. Any government of integrity would have exercised restraint, but this has been sadly lacking."
The Sunday Telegraph said the comments reflected a deepening rift on social and moral issues between the government and the Church of England, which is the established state church in the country.
Stephen Lowe, the Bishop of Hulme, said: "The government isn't telling people who are already deep in debt to stop overextending themselves, but instead is urging us to spend more. That is morally suspect and morally feeble."It is unfair and irresponsible of the government to put pressure on the public to spend in order to revive the economy."
Bishop of Winchester Michael Scott-Joynt said: "The government hasn't done anything like enough to help those less well off, particularly in terms of tax redistribution. "It's imperative that this government helps the poorer people and holds the hard-hit communities in its sights, but it seems to have its eye on re-election instead."
Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, said: "Labour made a lot of promises, but a lot of them have vanished into thin air.
"We have not seen a raising of aspirations... but instead there is a sense of hopelessness. While the rich have got richer, the poor have got poorer.
"When a big bank or car company goes bankrupt, it gets bailed out, but no one seems to be bailing out the ordinary people who are losing their jobs and seeing their savings diminished."
