Church powerless to support Middle East believers: CEN 2.26.10 p 8. March 6, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England Newspaper, Israel, Persecution.trackback
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams
The Church of England is powerless to support Christians in the Middle East, the Archbishop of Canterbury said during his four day tour of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, telling the Jordanian Petra news agency the concerns of the church are not priorities for the British government.
Dr. Rowan Williams arrived in Jordan on Feb 19, and on Saturday laid the cornerstone of the Great Church of St. John the Baptist east of the Jordan river at the site of Jesus’ baptism on land donated to the church by the King of Jordan.
In his audience with King Abdullah II on Feb 21, Dr Williams discussed a range of issues “from peace-building to inter-faith dialogue” and “shared profound concerns about the increasing fragility of Christian communities across the region,” a statement from Lambeth Palace said.
The King appealed to Dr. Williams for the Church of England to protect the Christian holy sites in Israel. “The king underscored the importance of the efforts that can be exerted by western churches to back peace efforts in the region and contribute to the protection of holy places in Jerusalem,” a statement released by the royal household said.
Abdullah also urged the Church of England “to intensify efforts to force Israel to stop its unilateral measures that threaten the Christian and Islamic holy places and seek emptying the holy city of its Arab inhabitants, both Muslims and Christians.”
In an interview with the official Petra news agency Dr. Williams said the emigration of Christians from Middle East was of “extreme concern for us,” however, “we always put up this issue to the British government, but it appears that this question is not among its priorities.”
