‘Wars seem everywhere’, says Archbishop of Canterbury in New Year plea for peace
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The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that “wars seem everywhere at the moment” in his New Year plea for peace.
The Most Rev Justin Welby made the statement as he delivered his annual start-of-the-year address.
Speaking from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, he prayed for a peaceful 2024 in his New Year message, saying: “Wars seem everywhere at the moment.
“Wars we know about, wars forgotten. I’ve seen for myself the ongoing human cost of war.
“In Ukraine, I went to Bucha where evidence of atrocities was found.
“I’ve met Ukrainian refugees, most recently in Georgia and Romania: families having to start again in a new country.
“I’ve met refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh (a territory disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia) after they left their homes because of conflict.
“And in Jerusalem last October, I sat and listened to some of those traumatised by war, Palestinian and Israeli.
“Jesus Christ tells us to stand with those suffering because of war, and to seek to make peace.”
His comments came after Russia launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine on Saturday night, hitting the capital, Kyiv, and border city Kharkiv after promising that strikes on the Russian border city of Belgorod hours earlier, which killed 24 people, would “not go unpunished”.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that another 165 people were killed in the previous 24 hours.
In his address, the Archbishop also praised the Armed Forces, saying that they embody the theme of the King’s coronation last year.
He said soldiers were at the centre of the celebrations not “just because the world marvelled at their displays of pageantry” but because they, “like many, many others in the country”, embodied service.
He added: “Here at RAF Brize Norton, almost 6,000 service personnel are living out that oath every day, working to keep us safe and the country secure, delivering humanitarian aid following natural disasters, like the earthquake in Turkey last year, or supporting civilians in the midst of conflict in places like the Middle East.
“We’re learning more and more how the horrors and traumas of war impact service personnel, sometimes long after.
“But there are also traumas for their loved ones. Families across the country feel the absence of relatives and those they love who are serving their country abroad.
“We fear for those of our fellow citizens who risk their lives defending and protecting the vulnerable and ensuring security.”
‘Caring for people is very much my job’
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message will be broadcast on BBC1 and iPlayer at 12.55pm on Monday, January 1.
This is not the first time that the Archbishop has waded into matters of politics and war, having repeatedly drawn criticism for his many interventions on issues such as the Illegal Migration Bill and the UK’s controversial Rwanda policy, tax and social care, universities protecting minority students, as well as changes to visa rules to curb migration.
In January, the Most Rev Justin Welby also dismissed criticism that intervening in political issues is not his job, saying: “I would say caring for people is very much my job and is very much the role of the church.”
