The National Council of Churches in Australia has issued a stunning new report called "From Corruption to Good Governance". As the summary says:

Rich nations are the real beneficiaries of the "boom industry" of global corruption that is making the world's poor even poorer.

The report calls for an all-out attack on tax havens that, it asserts, help wealthy individuals and businesses prosper at the expense of the poor.

Mark Zirnsak, a co-author of the report said:

Contrary to popular opinion it is not always the poor nations of the world that are the most corrupt. Although corruption occurs in most poor nations, it is big business and the wealthy of the world who are usually fostering and benefiting from that corruption at the expense of the poor.

The report also notes that many rich nations have been slow to act on bribery in developing countries. It notes criticism of the British government by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for failing to act on corruption because of the possible impact on Britain's economy or its relations with other states.

But what, perhaps, gives the report most credibility is its own candour. Take this:

The Christian faith and tradition has a long history of condemning corruption and calling for those in authority to act justly and fairly. However, at the same time, both churches and those calling themselves Christian have participated in and facilitated corruption throughout history, both within the churches themselves and in the wider community.

Even today, the Christian community continues to be plagued by corruption scandals, especially in the area of those in leadership positions in the church misusing their entrusted power to pursue their own sexual gratification. Where churches and individual Christians have acted corruptly, facilitated corruption or looked the other way it has been in rejection of the teaching and life of the founder of the Christian movement.

When an organisation can say that of itself, and humble itself in the process then I think that what it has to say deserves to be heard. The reports says that the effort to eliminate corruption will need to include:

- Building a global culture to respect basic human rights;

- A global effort to address tax competition, tax havens and tax evasion;

- Wealthy countries being willing to return funds looted from developing countries;

- Wealthy countries being willing to punish bribery by companies and citizens that operate from their country;

- Governments of wealthy countries introducing measures to prevent the importation of goods produced through corruption, such as illegally logged timber; and

- A willingness to cancel odious debts, to discourage those that would make corrupt loans.

Those are conclusions I can wholeheartedly endorse. That makes this a story about the Church and corruption which goes in the 'good news' column.