Political statements by Church leaders during religious festivals have become almost as familiar as the liturgy. Bang on cue, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, used his Easter Sunday sermon to condemn the Government’s asylum policy as “ungodly”. 

He said the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda “will not stand up to God’s judgment”. This part of the message was even pre-briefed for maximum impact, much in the same way ministers now routinely leak policy announcements. Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, also condemned the plan as “appalling” in what looked like a concerted effort by the Anglican hierarchy to kill it off.

Mr Welby’s strictures were not confined to asylum policy. He also said families were “waking up in fear” because households were facing the “greatest cost-of-living crisis we have known in our lifetimes”. They had “cold homes and empty stomachs” and the soaring cost of everyday life was the “first and overwhelming thought of the day” for most people, he added.

Mr Welby sees it as his duty to speak out on behalf of the poor and dispossessed, though it is never clear what he wants to see happen as an alternative. The asylum policy is certainly radical, but is it the Church’s position that anyone who makes it to the UK should be allowed to stay? What is the Church doing to look after and house them?

Mr Welby opposed the rise in National Insurance contributions to pay for more to be spent on the NHS. This newspaper also argued against it, but because we think people in general are overtaxed, whereas Mr Welby thinks the better-off should pay more. Is it really the Church’s job to conduct a running political commentary in this way?