Church organisations need to change lives

by Liz Hogarth

Church organisations need to change lives if they are to regain trust asserted the Treasurer Peter Costello at a luncheon today to raise money for Anglicare, the social welfare arm of the Anglican Church.

In a wide ranging address to over 170 Anglicare supporters in the Rocks area of Sydney, earlier today, he suggested that people no longer had as much trust in the Church and Church organisations. “Less than half the population rates clergymen highly for ethics and honesty,” he said. “This is at a time when church leaders speak out more than ever on what they perceive to be moral issues.”

He then went on to refer directly to the recent scandal that engulfed the Governor General’s office and caused a decline in donations to Anglicare.

“Recent events have created the suspicion that no matter how clearly the church imagines it can see the moral dimension of actions by others it did not seem to get too worked up about the moral failure of some of its own priests inside the church. And these were people who really had engaged in moral failure and in some cases criminal activity.

“The suspicion that the institution of the Church may have been easier on itself than it was on others is corrosive of trust.”

He suggested that churches and Christian charities could reverse this lack of trust by showing they could treat the root causes of social deprivation and poverty. “If the churches can point to lives that they have changed it will make a big difference; more than anything else it would demonstrate that faith in a modern society is not a lost cause,” he said. “The public would take a whole lot of notice. The churches and their agencies would recover trust.”

He also suggested that charities should step up and fill in the gaps left by Government. He said the voluntary sector needed to respond quickly and bring people with strong moral and religious commitment to help those that are in need. “If we lose that role we are going to lose something very important,” he said.
Peter Gardiner the General Manager for Anglican Welfare Services was not offended by Mr Costello’s remarks. “I warmly endorse the Treasurer’s comments,” said Mr Gardiner. “I understand the concern there is about how charities go about using money.”

He admitted that Anglicare still has to realise a shortfall in donations, but said he had been encouraged by a recent turnaround. “Anglicare is there delivering services,” he said. “It is just unfortunate that there are these issues in the Anglican Church structures.”

Responding to Mr Costello’s comments about changed lives, he said: “We believe we make a big difference in the lives of the people we help.”