Someone didn’t do his homework .

I agree that the church should have a responsibility towards the poor, and huge investments are likely to be questioned, however the church also has a responsibility for upkeep of historic buildings and provision of the pensions of its employees and I think many of the investments are probably providing for these things.
When it comes to helping the poor, I volunteer with the local winter night shelter for the homeless. and most of the nights are hosted by churches, a mixture of CofE, Roman Catholic and Baptist churches. Our nearest venue for giving out foodbank donations is a local church and the church I attend has an ongoing collection for the foodbank which I help administer with a retired friend who volunteers at the foodbank. I realise there is a difference between what individual churches do and the activities of the church commissioners but it is not always as simple as we may think.
As for zero hours contracts, it is true that many people (not just the young) like the flexibility of zero hours contracts. Some organisations would not be able to function without them but there are those who exploit workers. For instance people who invigilate exams in schools work on zero hours contracts but when they apply for the jobs they understand exactly what it involves and that it will simply be in exam season, which is not necessarily true for all people in zero hours contract jobs who may not get as much work as they want or need. Not all zero hours contracts are bad but some definitely are!

It is very difficult to invest money totally ethically. A lot of our monies are tainted by investments in arms, alcohol, tobacco etc etc. I personally think Justin Welby is a good thing. He speaks thoughtfully, intelligently and with integrity but I am not saying there isn't room for improvement in church politics and financial management. The C of E support a huge number of retired clergy. I think I am right in thinking there are more retired than currently working. My DH was a vicar for 31 years full time. His pension is under 9 K.

How about the Church of England unburdening itself of palaces, properties worth millions, and much of the elaborate and alarmingly expensive 'workwear' of the senior clergy and putting that money to good use, instead of banging on about the failures of consecutive governments? I simply cannot reconcile the people who claim to be the followers of the carpenter of Nazareth behaving in the way that they do. Didn't Jesus talk about the impossibility of a rich man trying to get into heaven? When the clergy start telling everyone what they should be doing to help the poor I reflect upon the shortest verse of the bible - 'Jesus wept'.

The Archbishop decided to have a pop at Amazon for 'leeching off the population and getting away with paying almost nothing in tax.'
From his Palace in Lambeth he casts distain and scorn upon Amazon for 'not paying taxes', whilst his organisation gets rates exemptions on its buildings.
He must have also forgotten that it is his organisation that survives on granted money from taxes, and is granted relief from tax on the money it 'earns'.
He also criticises Amazon for 'not paying a living wage', whilst ignoring the fact that all churches keep on going only through the free labour of the devoted volunteers.
And, to add insult to injury, we now learn that the Church has investments in Amazon that form part of its 18.6% return last year. Surely he is being hypocritical?

I think he sells his books on Amazon as well.
jocork good post, churches do immense good, but their investments need scrutiny before senior clerics start sounding off.

I have always admired Frank Field. A man of integrity and intelligence. A Labour stalwart.
Justin Welby is sincere but naive. He should keep out of politics and perhaps concentrate instead on why the Anglican Church has become so irrelevant.

The C of E has turned into the Socialist Agenda at Prayer. Had to laugh as apparently the church is employing people on zero hours contracts itself. Still, religion is the ultimate virtue signalling institution.

Many moons ago the The Church of England was the Tory Party at prayer. I am afraid that changed many years ago. It is now, The Labour party but not at prayer!!! That is why a lot of us are leaving the Church and the are loosing members by the bucket load.

He must have also forgotten that it is his organisation that survives on granted money from taxes, and is granted relief from tax on the money it 'earns'

I wondered when that one would come up.

The Church Commissioners is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from tax on income that is devoted to its charitable objectives. It contributes about 15% of the C of E's total income. Have a look at their web page and see what it goes on.

So much bile and unpleasantness on here that I assumed that it was coming from atheists. But no, some of you appear to be claiming to be christians. The hypocrisy is sickening..

Religion is a money-making machine supported by those who live with guilt or need the crutch of absolution from someone in fancy dress.

The point of his speech was we are sinking very low in the ranks of civilisation. Zero hours contracts are something medieval in the way employers are being allowed to exploit sometimes talented people by using them when and how they want like slaves. Careers have gone in lost jobs and forcing people to work this way is not very British. Also the tax problem, there is a new EU tax law coming into being in the new year which will force everyone to pay the full amount of tax they owe. While most people pay every penny they owe there is still a growing number who are finding ways to steal that money from the treasury. If everyone paid the tax they owe we would have no public services funding problems, the NHS would thrive and the economy would grow. The Welby message was a more general one directed at our conscience, integrity and responsibility towards the future of Britain for our grandchildren.

I rarely agree with you Gabriella but on this occasion I think maybe you have it spot on.

My beloved grandma put money into a packet (collected by her church every week ) until the day before she died aged 99.
Shame on them .

What a lot of tosh. Justin Welby is quite right to criticise Amazon, on several grounds. Jeff Bezos, Amazon boss, is now trying to make himself look good by creating some kind of philanthropic foundation. But why doesn't he just pay his workers decent wages and treat them better if he wants to relieve poverty? The charge of hypocrisy is unreasonable; if Justin Welby himself had shares in Amazon it would be different, but he has little or no control over many aspects of the C of E, including the Church Commissioners. It is perfectly true that Amazon profits are growing fast, and the tax it pays is shrinking. How can that be right? (Stuff about the C of E tax benefits are irrelevant - Amazon is not a charity). The Church Commissioners' claim that owning shares in Amazon allows them to make changes is also tosh, minority shareholders have no ability to influence companies. Historically, it was perfectly true that practising Anglicans were more likely to vote Tory; since 2010 it is not true.

But the C of E (JW’s employers) are benefitting from their Amazon shares together with their google shares and crikey knows which others. Not so long ago they benefitted from Wonga shares too . How hypocritical to publicly spout off about the morals and ethics of such companies when all the time you are enjoying their tidy little profits . Likewise how can anyone in his position condemn zero hours contracts as “evil” when his own employers the C of E offer them too ?

You're right lemon, JW does sell his books tbrough Amazon! can't quite see the justification for that?! As the most senior cleric in the Anglican church, and previously a senior oil company executive, I find it a bit odd that the Archbishop would be so unaware of where the church invests its millions. While he clearly can't know everything, surely he must at least have a vague idea!

particularly after the embarrassing saga over the church's involvement with Wonga!!

How hypocritical to publicly spout off about the morals and ethics of such companies when all the time you are enjoying their tidy little profits

Good God, gillybob; anyone would think from what you are saying that Welby was living the life of Reilly on the ill gotten gains of the Church Commission and grinding the faces of the poor into the dust into the bargain.

I trust you don't use Amazon...

How do you oh so self righteous people know that Justin Welby isn't equally critical of the Church Commissioners? Maybe he just feels he cannot say so in public. And he doesn't sell books at all, his publisher Bloomsbury sells them. Authors don't normally get to tell their publishers where to sell books.

They do if they feel strongly about things, he could tell Bloomsbury not to sell his books on Amazon or he would withdraw them.
Welby has been on a leftie think tank for the last two years and is a naive limelight seeker, the ultimate trendy vicar.
Telling everybody what to do whilst reaping profits himself from Amazon, and employing zero contract staff for the Cathedral.

Do you not think that having a six figure salary, living in a rent-free palace, having a chauffeur is not living the life of Reilly then, MaizieD?

I wonder how those employed by the C of E on minimum wage zero hours contracts feel?

Of course, the Church Commissioners do make sure of their own even larger salaries and million pound bonuses too.

Of course I use Amazon MazieD but I certainly don’t have shares with them or sell me wares through them whilst telling “my” millions of followers that they are evil. Double standards and sheer hypocrisy.

How do you oh so self righteous people know that Justin Welby isn't equally critical of the Church Commissioners?

Unfortunately he is one of the church commissioners.

Do you not think that having a six figure salary, living in a rent-free palace, having a chauffeur is not living the life of Reilly then, MaizieD?

He holds the highest office possible in the Church of England. Perhaps comparable with another prominent 'leader' who has a six figure salary, rent free accommodation, chauffeur driven cars and costs us a fortune in security. All paid for by the taxpayer, BTW. Which the Archbishop of Canterbury isn't; he's paid for out of church funds.

Perhaps you'd all be happier if he cycled everywhere in rags... and lived in a squat...

He is the symbolic head of Anglicans ie Christans, worldwide MaizieD!

I find it ironic that you fail to see that the Church of England has failed to reconcile its message of Christ's teachings with the C Of E's collusion with some of the worst aspects of capitalism.

I would have thought that you would have despised such companies which exploit the poor or evade tax rather than defending an organisation which invests with them.

just who are the hypocrites?

The hypocrites are those who call out the Archbishop while being perfectly happy to use the company he mentioned.

The hypocrites are those who pull on their judgey pants and forget the advice "Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone"

The hypocrites are those who complain about 'leftwing' ideas infecting the church while purportedly following a man whose teachings are reflected in a great deal of 'leftwing' thought.

Plenty of hypocrisy on this thread Jalima

Not to mention a distinct lack of proportion...

P.S I do despise Amazon and haven't used it for years.