Families left 'broken and weeping' by hunger and debt: Archbishop of Canterbury to say struggling families are 'too ashamed' to seek help from food banks in Easter Sunday Sermon

Comments will fuel criticism of Government's welfare reforms

He will say food banks and credit unions embody Christian values

His speech comes shortly after letter to David Cameron from religious leaders declaring rising hunger levels a 'national crisis'



The Archbishop's remarks will fuel criticism of welfare reforms

Families have been left ‘broken and weeping’ by hunger and debt despite the country’s economic recovery, the Archbishop of Canterbury will say in his Easter Sunday sermon today.



In outspoken remarks that will refuel attacks on the Government’s welfare policies, Archbishop Justin Welby will say many struggling families are ‘too ashamed’ to seek help from food banks, which critics claim are increasingly filling a gap created by benefit cuts.



His sermon in Canterbury Cathedral follows a letter from 600 religious leaders, including more than 40 Anglican bishops, urging David Cameron to tackle a ‘national crisis’ of rising hunger as the latest figures suggest more than a million Britons have used food banks in the past year.



Although the letter was not signed by Archbishop Welby, his remarks will be seen as endorsing its concerns.



Preaching about Mary Magdalene’s tears after discovering Christ’s empty tomb, the Archbishop also refers to the suffering of communities.



He will say: ‘With Mary there are so many that weep.





‘In Syria, mothers cry for their children and husbands. In the Ukraine, neighbours cry because the future is precarious and dangerous. In Rwanda, tears are still shed each day as the horror of genocide is remembered. In this country, even as the economy improves, there is weeping in broken families, in people ashamed to seek help from food banks, or frightened by debt. Asylum seekers weep with loneliness and missing far-away families. Mary continues to weep across the world.’

