Top earners 'should share wealth'

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Writing his Easter message in the Sunday Times, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, says the current turmoil in the world's financial markets is "almost certainly" the result of amoral forces and warns that one of the "great disparities" of our age is between rich and poor.

He writes: "The turmoil in the markets is almost certainly the result of such forces. Those with power need to ensure that the poor are not disproportionately affected.

"What is required is a change of heart, of disposition, of attitude.

"From possessiveness we need to move to gratitude for what we have, from 'cutting corners' to make a quick buck to that integrity for which business in this country was celebrated, and from mere accumulation of wealth to a generosity of spirit.

"When that happens, hedge fund managers and directors of companies can indeed go into the kingdom of heaven ahead of the chief priests and elders."

Dr Nazir-Ali highlighted developer John Laing as a company that has "shown the way" in corporate responsibility, and praises investor Warren Buffett and The Gates Foundation for their "responsible generosity".

He also criticises the separation, for the first time, of Easter from the early spring school holidays in some parts of the country, suggesting that some people will see this as "a sign of the further distancing of Christian faith from the day-to-day life of this nation".

His comments echo those made by the Bishop of Lichfield the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, who said in his Easter speech that the country's "financial crisis" is encouraging more people to return to Christianity.