The former Prime Minister accused religious leaders, particularly Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, of failing to provide "spiritual sustenance", pushing people to overeat instead.

Speaking to GB News, Rees-Mogg agreed that Britain faces a "spiritual desert". Drawing on his experiences, he said "The Church - and it's not just the Anglican Church, it may be our (Catholic) church too - and the Methodists, aren't filling that void".

Johnson's comments, part of the Nourishing Britain report co-authored by Henry Dimbleby and Dolly van Tulleken, painted a stark picture of the country's health.

The former prime minister said that when he was younger, it was "very rare for there to be a fatso in the class. Now they're all fatsos, and I'd be shot for saying they're fatsos, but it's the truth".

He criticised the Most Rev. Justin Welby and other religious leaders for going on about slavery reparations rather than addressing the "spiritual void" in people's lives.

Johnson said this failure was leading to a decline in church attendance.

"The living bread is being provided by Tesco" he said.

"And they're gorging themselves on the real living bread."

Decisive action on obesity

Rees-Mogg's endorsement comes amidst broader political criticism. A government spokesperson distanced Downing Street from Johnson's remarks, stating the government has already taken "decisive action" on obesity, which strains the NHS and the economy.

Figures underline the scale of the issue: 64% of adults in England were overweight or obese in 2022-2023. Among children, 22.1% of Year 6 pupils were classified as obese in 2023-2024.

The Nourishing Britain report interviewed three former prime ministers and ten ex-health secretaries, all admitting they hadn't done enough to tackle obesity while in office.

The report urges current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take tougher action on diet-related ill health in the UK.

Sources

GB News

The Times

Speaking on GB News on August 28, Rees-Mogg delivered what has been described as a "withering put down" of the Pope's recent comments on the migrant crisis.

"If the Holy Father wants them so much, he can have them in the Vatican.

"The Holy Father runs a sovereign state" said Rees-Mogg.

The former UK Conservative Party Cabinet minister's remarks came in response to Pope Francis's strong criticism of those who reject migrants, calling it a "grave sin" not to offer aid to those in distress.

Rees-Mogg further argued that the migrants "are safe in France", implying that their journey to the UK was unnecessary.

Recently, Francis strongly criticised the treatment of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe, saying it was a "grave sin" not to offer aid to vessels.

Rees-Mogg's comments come amid a surge in Channel crossings, with over 20,000 migrants having made the perilous journey to the UK this year alone.

On a single day last week, 526 people arrived illegally in UK waters in eight dinghies.

Maritime security sources suggest the UK is on track to exceed the 29,000 arrivals recorded in 2023 significantly.

The debate over migration policy has intensified following a tragic incident on September 3, when an overcrowded migrant boat capsized in the English Channel resulting in at least 12 fatalities.

While most crossings in 2015 were made by truck through the channel tunnel, sea crossings have surged since the port was secured.

From 2020 onwards, the market exploded. The number of shipwrecks also increased. "The boats are always overloaded; I even had one guy tell me he made the entire crossing clinging to the side of the boat, taking turns with others" said one commentator.

Rees-Mogg is known for his staunch pro-life stance. He is a traditional Catholic and attends Latin Mass.

His considerable personal wealth, estimated to be in excess of £100 million, has resulted in his facing criticism in the past for being out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people.

Sources

• GBNews
• LaCroix International
• Wikipedia

Rees-Mogg, a Catholic in the Conservative party, is in the spotlight for recent comments he made regarding anti-religious bigotry. Read more

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Jacob Rees-Mogg said he was "completely opposed to abortion" including in cases of rape and incest.

"Life is sacrosanct and begins at the point of conception," he said.

In relation to a question about same sex marriage Rees-Mogg says he "takes the teaching of the Catholic Church seriously.

"Marriage is a sacrament and the view of what marriage is, is taken by the church, not parliament".

His remarks have created an uproar throughout Britain, with some people labeling his views as "Trumpian".

Some members of his party have sought to distance themselves from him.

Fellow Tory MP Margot James says his views are "utterly abhorrent" and Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it could be a "tipping point" in Rees-Mogg's career.

Maybe his views will damage his career. Then again, maybe they won't.

Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative MP who is also a practising Catholic told BBC Radio Rees-Mogg's views are "nothing like as rare as you may think."

She also predicted they would not damage Rees-Mogg's political career.

Rees-Mogg is sometimes rumored to be British Prime Minister Theresa May's eventual replacement as head of the Tory party.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service said Mr Rees-Mogg's "extreme" views were "wildly at odds" with public opinion.

Their head of policy research Katherine O'Brien said: "We are a pro-choice country, we have a pro-choice Parliament.

"Every politician is entitled to hold their own opinion on abortion. But what matters is whether they would let their own personal convictions stand in the way of women's ability to act on their own."

Source

• Crux
• BBC
• Image: Telegraph

But an effort by a Catholic MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to change the Succession to the Crown Bill so that a Catholic could become king or queen was unsuccessful.

Rees-Mogg described the current exclusion as a "grating unfairness", adding that he thought the Church of England could still be protected as the established church in the United Kingdom.

The bill specifies that the children of a monarch must be brought up as Anglicans if they are to retain their place in the line of succession, given the sovereign's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

"A Catholic may marry an heir to the throne, but may not then maintain the succession by bringing up a child of that marriage as a Catholic. Now the reason I object to this is that it is an attack on the teaching of the Catholic Church," Rees-Mogg said.

Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said there was no public support to allow Catholics to succeed to the throne. Introducing such a fundamental change would also undermine the Church of England at a time when "instability was not welcome".

Rees-Mogg's amendment to allow a non-Anglican monarch to hand over the ecclesiastical role to a regent was rejected.

A Catholic MP from Northern Ireland, Mark Durkan, said the language proposed in the succession bill relating to the Catholic religion was offensive.

"The choice we're making...is basically putting a twenty-first century license on arcane and offensive language, quite sectarian provisions. Provisions which, if a politician in Northern Ireland used that same language on a political platform, people would be talking about incitement to religious hatred," he said.

The bill still has to go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. The 15 other realms of the Commonwealth have already given their agreement.

The changes will mean that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child, expected in July, is a girl, she can become monarch even if she later has younger brothers.

Sources:

Reuters

Catholic Herald

Express

Image: The Anglophile