BISHOPS in London spoke out against “intolerance and division” before the “Unite the Kingdom” march that took place in town on Saturday.
The march, organised by the far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, was billed as a “free speech festival”. The Metropolitan Police estimated that 110,000 to 150,000 people attended the march, “significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers”.
It was “a really difficult day that saw disorder, violence directed at officers and 26 officers injured”, the Met said. Twenty-four people were arrested for offences that included affray, violent disorder, assaults, and criminal damage. Around 5000 people attended a counter-protest, organised by Stand as much as Racism.
Some of the “Unite the Kingdom” marchers carried banners bearing images of Christ and messages reminiscent of “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life”, Premier Christian News reported. A correspondent for Sky News, Tom Cheshire, observed “overt Christian nationalism” on the march. “People carried wood crosses. One person had a light-up crucifix. When the gang arrived at Whitehall, they were led from the stage in a chant of ‘Christ is king’. And then a public recital of the Lord’s Prayer shortly after that.”
In an announcement issued the day before the march, the Bishop of Edmonton, within the diocese of London, Dr Anderson Jeremiah, and the diocese’s head of racial justice priority, Dr Lisa Adjei, said that they were “deeply concerned”.
“Though framed as a celebration of free speech, it’s inextricably linked to voices and movements which have previously contributed to division and racial intolerance,” they said. “This is at odds with all the pieces we, and thousands and thousands of Londoners, stand for, especially the Diocese of London.
“We affirm that freedom of speech is an important democratic right, and at the identical time pray for a nation where that freedom is exercised to not deepen fear or exclusion, but to foster compassion and unity. Every day, in our churches and on our streets, we see a really different city to the one which the marchers portray. One where people from all cultures, religions, beliefs and classes can work, worship, and live together. We take pride in a city that welcomes everyone. Now and all the time, we reject intolerance and division within the utmost terms.”
The same day, an announcement from Southwark diocese said that its bishops endorsed Dr Jeremiah’s and Ms Adjei’s statement.
“We are deeply concerned that the march will cause fear amongst minority groups. We want to reject intolerance and we stand in solidarity with all of the people of South London and East Surrey celebrating the wealthy diversity of our communities as we proceed to work for a very united nation of all faiths and races,” they said.
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, also expressed concerns in regards to the march. She said on Thursday: “While we must proceed to champion the fitting to peaceful protest, I also need to affirm our responsibility to make sure that such expressions don’t change into platforms for intolerance or aggression. I call on civic leaders, faith communities, and individuals to be courageous advocates for truth, justice, and peace.
“Let us keep in mind that our flourishing as a nation has long relied on the contributions of those that have come to live and work amongst us. Let us not allow fear to define our response but as a substitute be courageous enough to decide on the trail of affection — just as Jesus commanded: ‘Love each other as I even have loved you.’ (John 13:34).”
Speaking on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, referred to the protesters in London who had been “noisily expressing their anger about immigration and the small-boats crisis, their frustration occasionally tipping over into violence”.
He spoke in regards to the difference between “just anger” and “destructive anger”, and said: “I expect that a lot of those on Saturday’s march would say that their anger is just and that they’re in search of to deepen national unity by truthfully naming an issue that they feel has been downplayed.”
He used Moses for instance of someone who had demonstrated “destructive anger”, by murdering an Egyptian. “The fruit of that anger was bitter: Moses needed to flee Egypt, his people suffered, his community was damaged.” Many years later, nevertheless, Moses had shown “just anger”, Bishop North said, “when he smashed the tablets that bore the words of the Ten Commandments. That ferocious sign bore fruit in rebuilding a community divided by idolatry and restoring his people’s faith.”
He concluded: “In an era defined increasingly by rage, possibly people need to look at themselves in regards to the fruit of their very own anger. Too much destructive anger undermines the values that hold a society together. But the raw energy of an anger that’s just signifies that it may be channelled in constructive ways to construct unity and alter lives for good.”
The Bishop of Barking, the Rt Revd Lynne Cullens, wrote on X on Monday: “An intentional national dialogue to ascertain some type of refreshed, contemporary and broad-based understanding of British values, is long overdue.”
