Bishop blasts Sunday trading

Apr 16 2006

THE Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham has blasted Tony Blair's plans to extend Sunday trading, and allow stores to open even on Easter Sunday.

In his Easter message, which appears in full on page 10 of today's Sunday Mercury, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols calls on MPs to veto the suggestion, and says it will undermine family values.

"The Government is running a public consultation on extending Sunday trading and actually removing all protection from Easter Sunday," he warns.

"I ask you not to let the interests of big business ruin any further our precious rhythm of life. There's more to life than work and shopping.

"There's love, family, community and God. These are worth celebrating, especially on this Easter Day and, frankly, on every Sunday, too." l In his Easter Sunday sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury today warned people not to take any notice of best-selling thriller The Da Vinci Code.

Dr Rowan Williams said that the book, which claims that Christ had a child with Mary Magdelene, might appeal to the public's love of conspiracy theories.

But he said that Dan Brown's novel, and the hype surrounding the so-called Judas Gospel, did not match up to the truth of the Gospel.