by Tim Sigsworth, Telegraph
Academics warn ‘extravagant’ social-justice projects are pushing the institution towards crisis
The Church of England is “heading for financial disaster” because of net-zero targets and slavery reparations, a report has warned.
Academics believe “significant costs” from “extravagant” social-justice projects are contributing to the Church’s financial malaise, with 37 of its 42 dioceses operating with budget deficits.
The Church has been told to slash bureaucracy, make parishes its “first priority” and cut the number of diocesan bishops by almost a third to give “deeply dispirited” parishioners and clergy hope for the future.
The report, written by Canon Robin Gill and Prof John Craven, says the “crisis” of declining attendance, donations and ordinations can be halted only through “ruthless” reforms. It cites net zero and Project Spire as “costly” initiatives viewed by churchgoers as “unrealistic, extravagant, unsustainable and deeply depressing”.
“All of them involve or could involve significant costs, typically unaccounted [for] and seldom assessed in terms of the total cost to the Church,” they said.
The Church is aiming to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2030 and has allocated £190m to fund eco-friendly renovations of churches and vicarages to make them warmer and reduce bills.
However, it has since admitted that it will not meet the 2030 target, which some have criticised for leaving parishioners cold and reducing attendance by limiting access to new oil or gas boilers.
Project Spire, a £100m investment fund intended to make amends for the slave trade, has attracted fierce opposition from critics who say it is based on poor evidence and fails to take into account the Church’s role in abolitionism.