Rev Canon Jonathan Ford, from the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich told Premier he disagreed with the Right Rev Philip North tweet that implied the Diocese of Leeds’ financial crisis was due to the north-south financial divide between churches.
“I’m very sad and disappointed by the Bishop of Burnley’s statement because I’m afraid it exposes a fair degree of ignorance,” Rev Ford said.
“He should know that there are many dioceses in what he calls the south, who are really struggling. I know of one diocese that has never had any historic resources at all unlike some of the northern dioceses.”
Responding to the news that the Diocese of Leeds is struggling to tackle a £3m deficit, the Right Rev Philip North tweeted: “A northern Diocese ‘in crisis’ because of a debt of less than 1 per cent of the funds held by some southern Dioceses.
“This ‘crisis’ is no more than a symptom of a much deeper financial and spiritual institutional sickness. The solution is in Acts 2.”
Act 2:44-5 in the King James Bible states: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”
However, Rev Ford criticised some of the financial decisions made by the diocese – which was formed four years ago as a merger between the diocese of Bradford,…
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