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Archbishop says tackling global poverty is central to the Christian message

-02/07/05

D Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will today urge the leaders of the rich world gathering in Gleneagles for the G8 summit to remember the central message of the Christian faith as they tackle the pressing issues of world poverty and global warming.

The G8 meeting is being preceded by a series of demonstrations and Live 8 concerts across the world, which are designed to raise awareness of the issues of debt, trade, aid and the UN millennium development goals.

In a sermon at Lambeth Palace, Dr Rowan Williams will say that the global challenges facing the G8 leaders give added urgency and relevance to the Christian call for people to love our neighbour as a tangible outworking of God’s love for us.

Dr Williams will point out that in the modern world, as in the biblical message, it is more clear than ever that our neighbours include anyone in need, wherever they may be. We can no longer limit our resposibilities to one another to family or kinship group.

The Archbishop’s comments follow an open letter to British prime minister Tony Blair, which he signed with other leaders of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, calling on the UK to make sure that world poverty is at the top of the Gleneagles agenda.

Dr Williams will say: “Pandemics, poverty (and) ecological degradation are everyone’s business, and there is no escape pod reserved for those who are comfortable and prosperous just at the moment.”

He continues: “Suddenly, the question ‘Who is my neighbour?’ has a very clear answer: my neighbour is the person who lives next door, is the suffering stranger in Africa or South-East Asia, or wherever poverty, disease and disaster are found.”

The Christian message, says the Archbishop, tells us that “my life is as much bound up with this as with the lives of people who happen to be more like me. And there is nothing abstract or idealistic about the call to love this neighbour: this is the most realistic command that could be given.”

Dr Williams is preaching his sermon at a special service during a festival in the grounds of Lambeth Palace to celebrate the centenary of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Archbishop hosted an international Forum of church leaders, ecumenical networks, and faith-based development organisations at Lambeth Palace.

The Forum warned that time was running out for a new and equitable approach to issues of global poverty.


Find books now:

Archbishop says tackling global poverty is central to the Christian message

-02/07/05

D Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will today urge the leaders of the rich world gathering in Gleneagles for the G8 summit to remember the central message of the Christian faith as they tackle the pressing issues of world poverty and global warming.

The G8 meeting is being preceded by a series of demonstrations and Live 8 concerts across the world, which are designed to raise awareness of the issues of debt, trade, aid and the UN millennium development goals.

In a sermon at Lambeth Palace, Dr Rowan Williams will say that the global challenges facing the G8 leaders give added urgency and relevance to the Christian call for people to love our neighbour as a tangible outworking of God’s love for us.

Dr Williams will point out that in the modern world, as in the biblical message, it is more clear than ever that our neighbours include anyone in need, wherever they may be. We can no longer limit our resposibilities to one another to family or kinship group.

The Archbishop’s comments follow an open letter to British prime minister Tony Blair, which he signed with other leaders of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, calling on the UK to make sure that world poverty is at the top of the Gleneagles agenda.

Dr Williams will say: “Pandemics, poverty (and) ecological degradation are everyone’s business, and there is no escape pod reserved for those who are comfortable and prosperous just at the moment.”

He continues: “Suddenly, the question ‘Who is my neighbour?’ has a very clear answer: my neighbour is the person who lives next door, is the suffering stranger in Africa or South-East Asia, or wherever poverty, disease and disaster are found.”

The Christian message, says the Archbishop, tells us that “my life is as much bound up with this as with the lives of people who happen to be more like me. And there is nothing abstract or idealistic about the call to love this neighbour: this is the most realistic command that could be given.”

Dr Williams is preaching his sermon at a special service during a festival in the grounds of Lambeth Palace to celebrate the centenary of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark.

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Archbishop hosted an international Forum of church leaders, ecumenical networks, and faith-based development organisations at Lambeth Palace.

The Forum warned that time was running out for a new and equitable approach to issues of global poverty.