Spiralling poverty coupled with over-development in Bermuda is causing a “spiritual death, for all of us”, Anglican Bishop Ewan Ratteray has warned.

In the Bermuda Diocesan newsletter for May, the Bishop highlighted some of the key concerns he believes the public needs to raise with Government representatives.

Failing to address key social issues, such as housing and poverty, will lead to “destructive relationships affecting families, marriages and eventually the wider community”, he said.

Rather than merely moaning about the direction of Bermuda over the dinner table, the public must take concerns into the public domain, the Bishop said.

“These are questions that we need to put to those who would represent us in the election, which is surely not too far away,” he wrote in the newsletter.

“We have a voice and that voice needs to be heard by those who need to hear it. And we ought to speak up whether we are a guest worker or a local.

“Bermuda is allegedly the third richest country in the world, and yet, there are real problems in what some would consider Paradise!

“Have you thought about why it is that in the midst of such incredible wealth, we have people living in derelict houses, cars, caves, on the streets and on beaches?”

The Bishop also highlighted Government’s decision to spend $11 million on cricket and $15 million on football over five years, while there are people squatting in Club Med because they can not afford a home.

Bishop Ratteray said he is not even sure whether when he retires in five years, he will be able to find a home in pricey Bermuda.

The Bishop said the church is increasingly being approached by people desperate for food and other crucial social assistance.

This raises the question about where the wealth in the country is going, he suggested.

“How is it that each week more and more people are coming to Canon Jeffry and me at the Cathedral for food vouchers? Even social workers are sending people to our doors,” he wrote.

Meanwhile indiscriminate building may lead to more harm then good for the bulk of Bermudians, he suggested.

“(W)hy are we so hell bent on destroying our environment, given our severely limited open space, by building on every available plot of land,” he wrote.

“Who in the end (are) going to be the beneficiaries of all those office buildings cluttering up Hamilton? A small minority. For them it is short-term financial gain and long-term loss for all of us all in the pursuit of the mighty dollar.

“Meanwhile the poor are getting poorer, while the rich grow very rich.”