Letter: Cures for crime: a return to family values, creative play, moral lessons, caring at home

Sir: Andrew Marr's column 'Daring to agree about our moral sickness' (19 February) was both timely and perceptive. The horrendous murder of little James Bulger has scarred the heart and soul of the nation, and rightly so. This tragedy, and its wider implications, has served to highlight the moral and spiritual malaise that deeply affects our nation.

In searching for a cure, the temptation to look for cosmetic answers has to be resisted. Nothing less than a restatement of and a return to the moral, spiritual, family and relational values is needed. The laws of God, largely unknown by many today, provide a framework in which right and wrong can be objectively discerned.

Nothing is gained by trying to pass the buck and blame others for our present situation. The emerging consensus that something urgently needs to be done offers a glimmer of hope. The acceptance of a corporate response, not least by the Church, for the nation's moral and spiritual sickness, coupled with a united determination to work for its healing, can begin to point a way forward.

Yours faithfully,

JOHN SOUTHAMPTON

Romsey

22 February