Church 'as racist as the rest of society'

A CATHOLIC bishop claimed last week that the Church is as guilty as the rest of British society of deeply imbedded prejudices toward people from ethnic minorities.
Bishop Ambrose Griffiths boldly claimed that prejudice of any kind was "as harmful as a racist killing".
He said: "People must not assume that there is no racism in the Church.
"Often there are witting or unwitting prejudices stemming from ignorance and indifference manifesting themselves in all subtle forms, and they are as harmful as a racist killing." The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, who chairs the Bishops' Conference Committee for Community Relations, told a conference on the Christian response to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry that social deprivation and unequal opportunities disadvantaged ethnic minorities.
He commended Neville and Doreen Lawrence, the parents of Stephen Lawrence for persevering with their fight to bring their son's killers to justice and for making people aware of the scale of racism his death exposed. Bishop Griffiths said: "The Catholic Church is determined not only to prevent but to eliminate racism in our society by way of education and awareness through seminars, conferences and Church commissions.
"I am delighted that our schools are very multiethnic and reflect a cultural diversity. Children from ethnic minorities often do very well in our school than in others."
Despite this optimism, the churches admitted that they must step up efforts to root out racism and racist behaviour.
Revd Prebendary Theo Samuel, Moderator of the Churches' Commission for Racial Justice, said: "Appointment procedures do not take equal opportunity into account.
"Few blacks and Asians are appointed as senior clergy as their leadership qualities are not acknowledged, and they are not appointed in parishes where whites are in the majority."
His comments echoed the recent words of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Carey said that "racism among those in positions of power and authority is especially offensive as it threatens the principles of both equality and justice."
But the Revd Dr William Peter Stephens, leader of the Methodist Church, denied that "institutional racism" existed in the Methodist Church.
He added: "Having said that, I must admit there are instinctive unwitting prejudices, but part of the task of our Christian preaching is to expose those attitudes."
Other Church leaders said that they hoped Stephen Lawrence's death would continue to create, waves throughout society. The Rt Revd Wilfred Wood, the Bishop Ambrose Griffiths: Racism lurks as much hi the Church as in the rest of society Anglican Bishop of Croydon, said: "A genuine multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society will benefit us all."
Revd Martin Eden, leader of the Evangelical Alliance, said that the Churches had the task not only to examine their personal responsibilities but to work together to break the social barriers created by racism. That is the mandate, he said, that they received from Christ, and they can make a difference by heightening awareness.
He said: "Unemployment is three times higher among the minorities than among whites. Minorities are three times poorer than whites and there have been 14,000 racial incidents last year, only five per cent of which has been reported. This is a racist quota."
The churches have chosen the first Sunday of September each year as Racial Justice Sunday, the Sunday closest to the birthday of Stephen Lawrence.