Have I got ‘news’ of another example of blatant hypocrisy for you! No, not about the ongoing Laurence Fox ‘saga’, nor about the wails of metropolitan MSM editors about the dastardly Tories daring to ‘gamble on the motorists’ votes’, as iNews screams on their print edition’s front page while some Red Tops think it’s a good idea. You can check it all out here, in the usual place.

It is about the hypocrisy of the Westminster ‘elites’ who have been preaching to us peasants that we now live in a secular society, that churches and priests have no say about how we live our lives. The one exception is when bishops and archbishops preach full, industrial-strength wokery. These are occasions when the Westminster MSM tell us to do as yon bishops say.

Even so, I was puzzled and wondered why the DT saw fit to dedicate a whole ‘top story’ to the Archbish Welby’s issue with Ms Braverman. For your entertainment, here are the headlines:

“Suella Braverman refuses talks with Justin Welby on immigration – Sources claim relationship with Church has become ‘toxic’ over government policy” (paywalled link)

Welby has always been against the Rwanda plan and, according to ‘sources’, has been ‘rebuffed’ (my emphasis):

“The Most Rev Justin Welby has “reached out” to the Home Secretary to discuss the Government’s policy on asylum seekers, but Mrs Braverman has so far failed to agree to any discussions in an apparent snub. Mrs Braverman’s approach to immigration has created tensions with the Archbishop, who has branded plans to deport migrants to Rwanda “against the judgment of God”. (paywalled link)

How does Welby know that ‘God judges’ this Rwanda plan? Which ‘God is this anyway? The one who allowed Welby to close the doors of all churches during the lockdowns? Also, I cannot recall that Rwanda is mentioned anywhere in the Bible, but then, I’m not an Archbish. However, the DT kindly provides us with the clue for why this story has suddenly seen the light of day:

“The row threatens to plunge the Tories into a war of words with the Church ahead of the Conservative Party conference which starts in Manchester on Sunday.” (paywalled link)

Ah! So it’s not so much about Welby calling down the wrath of God but about rhetorically attacking the Sunak government! The following quote shows that the good old Archbish has had friendly helpers in the mostly WFH Whitehall corridors who told the DT about yon Archbish having tried to speak to Ms Braverman. Speaking to the Minister for Immigration wasn’t sufficient, it seems. Those ‘sources’ also managed to get their moans about another Braverman issue into the DT:

“Speaking to The Telegraph, a senior Government source accused the Home Secretary of “stoking” the ECHR issue behind the scenes with a group of Right-wing MPs, sparking tensions No 10. […] The government source said: “Suella is stoking the ECHR issue behind the scenes at every opportunity. She’s running a shadow campaign with a tiny group of Right-wing MPs. It’s causing real tension and undermining our Supreme Court Case. She’s probably hoping we lose in the courts. That way she can blame the ECHR and those of us who know how difficult and damaging it would be to leave. No 10 knows exactly what she’s up to and isn’t happy.” (paywalled link)

Oh dear: dastardly ‘right-wing’ Tory plotters, making ‘No 10’ unhappy? How awful! The archbishop would soon show her the errors of her way, innit, with fire and brimstone … I do wonder though where the CofE is housing yon poor migrants and where their fabulous programmes are to help them once they’re here. Surely they’d tell us if there were any!

Moreover, does anyone still have to ask why our immigration policies are so ineffectual? It’s another nice example for the way Whitehall torpedoes Tory policies. But there’s more – at least the DT did report this:

“Senior Tory MPs have criticised the politicisation of senior bishops. Chris Loder, a member of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, said bishops risked becoming “politicians that wear mitres” over their interventions in the migration debate, adding that it was “a very damaging thing for the Church of England to do”. It is claimed that some bishops now refuse to work with certain constituency MPs on local matters, preferring to bypass them. The House magazine alleges that those MPs being effectively boycotted include Jonathan Gullis, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, who accused the bishops of “turning into faux politicians”.” (paywalled link)

So answer me this: how come that we’re told that being a secular society where ‘Teh Church’ no longer tells us how to behave is ‘an excellent thing’ while the same Church, hand-in-hand with the Westminster MSM, pushes their wokery onto us, preaching ‘the wrath of God’? Will we now see Labour, atheist as a matter of course, side with ‘Teh Church’? And where, in the name of diversity, are reports of chief imams and chief rabbis telling off Ms Braverman? 

That’s all I have for today. I’m sure there’s something in the Bible about the fate of shepherds who’ve either sold their flocks for profit or left them to perish, and about the sin of hypocrisy. Have a good weekend.