The Church of England Can Invest in Porn
As U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pushes to ban online porn, the Church of England has made a curious admission: it can invest in it.
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The Church embarrassed itself this week when news surface that it had invested in a payday loan company called Wonga through its holdings in a venture firm called Accel partners. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, who called Wonga "morally wrong" and vowed to take it on, admitted on Friday that the Church can invest in companies it doesn't necessarily support, including ones that make pornography.
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Welby told reporters Friday that the Church's business is "complex," and that he and other leaders would have to decide "how much sin" the Church can tolerate.
"We are going to have to review these levels and how we do it," he said. "The reality is, if you invest in a hotel chain, a lot of hotel chains sell pornography in their hotel rooms. Do you therefore not invest in any hotel chains at all? The complexity of the thing is enormous. I’ve been living with this for many, many years. I’ve no illusions about this."
Cameron announced this week that by next year, U.K. households will have their access to porn blocked by default, and Brits will have to ask their internet providers if they want to remove the block. "Extreme pornography" will be outlawed entirely. Cameron claims the ban will protect children and help crack down on pedophiles, but experts vary on whether it will actually work.
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If it does, the Church may want to invest elsewhere.
