The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his Easter sermon to call upon British Christians to remember what the cross stands for in their faith and refrain from equating opposition to their faith to the physical persecution suffered by believers in other countries. Dr Rowan Williams said recent disputes over the display of religious symbols could be put down to “bureaucratic silliness”, adding that the mixture of contempt and fear towards the Christian faith in parts of British society was “unjustified”.
He called upon Christians, however, to keep a sense of proportion whenever they experienced opposition to their faith.
'It is not the case that Christians are at risk of their lives or liberties in this country simply for being Christians. Whenever you hear overheated language about this remember those many, many places where persecution is real and Christians are being killed regularly and mercilessly or imprisoned and harassed for their resistance to injustice,” he said.
He told Christians to remember the suffering of minority Christians in other countries like Nigeria, where hundreds have been murdered by Muslims in recent months, as well as Iraq, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
“We need to keep a sense of perspective, and to redouble our prayers and concrete support,” he said.
The Archbishop’s comments will be a disappointing blow to clergy who claimed in a letter to The Telegraph last week that the rights of Christians in the UK were “being treated with disrespect”.
He made no reference in his sermon to controversial comments he made in a BBC interview stating that the Catholic Church in Ireland had “lost all credibility” because of the sex abuse scandal.
The Archbishop later apologised for the comments, insisting that he had not meant to offend the Catholic Church.
He went on to encourage Christians to speak openly about the cross and its promise of renewal.
“Is the God we see in the cross, the God who lives through and beyond terrible dereliction and death and still promises mercy, renewal, life – is that God too much of a menace to be mentioned or shown in the public life and the human interactions of society?" he said.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols, used his Easter sermon to acknowledge the Church’s guilt over decades of unreported child abuse by priests.
"Talk of sin is not always popular - unless we are talking about other people's sins,” he said.
"In recent weeks the serious sins committed within the Catholic community have been much talked about.
"For our part, we have been reflecting on them deeply, acknowledging our guilt and our need for forgiveness.
"This is the journey of Holy Week.
"Indeed, to appreciate the message of this great Christian feast we have to begin with our own sin and shame."
Pope Benedict XVI did not refer to the sex abuse scandal rocking the Church nor of the criticism he has faced in recent weeks for his handling of a child abuse case from the 1990s, saying simply that Jesus had "not reacted when insulted".
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