Top British church leaders target capitalism in Christmas sermons

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, condemned the financial traders who made millions by driving down the share price of leading banks as "bank robbers and asset strippers".

In a powerful speech to City bankers on the effects of the credit crisis on Wednesday, he denounced the "Alice in Wonderland" world of global finance where short-sellers profited by laying bets that shares in HBOS would fall in price.

Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warned in a magazine article that modern devotion to the free market is a form of idolatry and that Karl Marx was right in his analysis of the power of "unbridled capitalism".

Archbishops devoted their annual messages to the human suffering caused by the global economic downturn, and called for communities to come together to support those who lose most in the turmoil.

Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, attacked exploitative money lenders who pursued "ruthless gain" and urged banks not to "enrich themselves at their poor neighbours' expense".