The Episcopalian bishop of New York has waded into the debate over the Occupy movement in a call for more governance of the economy to halt what he described as a "deeply dangerous" disparity between rich and poor in America.
In a statement published in response to the eviction of the protesters at Occupy Wall Street on Tuesday, Mark Sisk described the widening gap as "morally wrong."
In the piece, entitled "We must not serve capitalism, we must make it serve us", Sisk said he agreed with the protesters that capitalism, while a productive way to order economic life, had no inherent morality.
He said: "There should be no question that when an economic system fails to reflect those communal values, it should be modified and governed until it does. To say, as some do, that any attempt to control or guide our economic system is neither wise nor possible is to admit that an economic system has decisive control of our lives. For a Christian, such an admission would be nothing less than to yield to idolatry."
Sisk, who said he had visited protesters at Zuccotti Park, said they represented a "surprisingly large swathe of the Amercian people" and that the movement appeared to be gaining momentum.
He said: "As the OWS protestors point out, wealth in our country is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, the real income of the broad middle class has not increased in more than a generation, and the ranks of the poorest among us each year become ever more solidified.
"These are the facts – and the reality behind them is, quite simply, morally wrong.
"Ultimately, left unchecked, that reality is deeply dangerous. It is at odds with our vision of ourselves, and as Americans we ignore it at the peril of our most cherished national ideals. As Christians, we ignore it at the peril of our souls."
He said: "Whatever happens next in Downtown Manhattan, it is terribly important that the core energy behind this protest not be lost behind a blizzard of slogans and rhetoric. The particular motivations of those protesting are, undoubtedly, as mixed as the American people itself."
Sisk ends by a call to curb economic imbalance: "We must – and I believe that this is what lies at the core of the OWS protests – rein in the imbalances that have caused our economic house to careen off course as though it is a self-perpetuating, self-governing good."
Sisk's statement was originally intended to be published in the New Yorker, but was brought forward and published on the Diocese website in response to the eviction of OWS protesters.
