THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21988, 12 January 1937, Page 9

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

PLEA FOR ECONOMIC

REFORM

UNIFORM STIPENDS

PROPOSED

STATEMENT SIGNED BY

TWELVE BISHOPS

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —Cof VtIIOHT.) (Received January 12, 12.50 a.m.)

LONDON, January 11

Twelve bishops, including the Bishop of Birmingham (the Rt. Rev. Dr. E. W. Barnes), and ecclesiastical and lay people have signed a plea for a radical economic reform of the Church of England, entitled “Men, Money, and the Ministry,” published to-day. The chief advantages advocated are:—

The pooling of church resources. The establishment of a uniform stipend for all ordained, including bishops. “It is not a Christian principle that increased spiritual responsibility should necessarily mean larger incomes,” says the statement. “Diocesan bishops must be tired of explaining to the public that most of their income goes in expenses, not in joyous living. Is it necessary, even in so class-ridden a country as England, that the successors of the Apostles should be housed like wealthy merchants and rich landholders, even if they live more frugally?” The proposed scale of stipends begins at £325, with allowances for a wife and children.