Catholic bishops split over Brexit as Archbishop accuses Osborne of ‘ludicrous’ scaremongering

Archbishop Peter Smith, the Catholic Archbishop of Southwark – whose diocese covers all of London south of the Thames – has accused George Osborne of ‘ludicrous’ scaremongering in the EU referendum.

The Archbishop, talking to Vatican radio, does not explicitly say that he supports Brexit. His line is that he is ‘undecided how to vote’. But according to my sources, in private he has been telling ‘anyone who cares to listen’ that he favours the Out campaign.

‘It seems that Peter Smith wants to leave the EU – he’s made that very clear,’ a Catholic bishop tells me.

Here’s an extract from the Catholic Herald report on Smith’s interview. It’s surprising and refreshing to read such robust criticism of the EU after decades of sycophantic tributes to Brussels by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. My emphases in bold.

‘The problem is that the EU has become extremely bureaucratic,’ [Archbishop Smith] told Vatican Radio.