In this Interview the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, speaks with Vatican Media about the challenges facing Christians due to the pandemic, the ecumenical importance of the encyclical Fratelli Tutti and his hopes for peace in South Sudan.

Just over one year ago, on 13th November 2019, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, met Pope Francis in the Vatican for a private audience.  In that short space of time, the global situation has drastically changed due to the pandemic. However, the dramatic arrival of COVID-19 has only reinforced the importance of those things – solidarity, ecology, religious freedom and peace – which have fund particular resonance with both the Bishop of Rome and the Primate of the Anglican Communion.

One year after their most recent meeting, and one month after the publication of Fratelli tutti, Archbishop Justin Welby granted a wide-ranging interview to Vatican News and the Osservatore Romano to talk about the issues currently facing the world. He focused his reflection on the contribution Christians can make in this moment, which is so deeply affected by suffering.

This interesting and inspiring interview can be read in full here.

Extracts
In regard to South Sudan Archbishop Justin Welby noted the great work done by combined Christian Churches :

They have “continued to work for peace and a lasting and just future for that country. My hope is that, once travel is possible again, there will have been sufficient progress in the South Sudan Peace Process that we will be able to visit to celebrate this and to encourage a deepening of peace and growth in society there.

In regard to COVID-19 The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke about the need for calm:

Fear is not defeated by panic. There is something about an unseen enemy that inspires fear. But fear is not defeated by panic, rather it is amplified by it. Calm, however, gives us the space to take stock and to act deliberately.

There were many headlines during the periods of lockdow that said that the Churches were closed… but the Church itself was open. Christians of all denominations were seeking out and helping others. It is clear that in the face of the coronavirus pandemic we are all in it together.

The Archbishop concludes this interview by recalling a meeting he had with Pope Francis:
At the end of one of my meetings with the Pope he told me to remember the ‘three p’s: Prayer, Peace and Poverty’. I hope that as our friendship continues so these three p’s can continue to bind us together – mutual prayer for each other and for the world, and a commitment both to peace and reconciliation and to striving to improve the lives of the poor.

Pope’s Activities

In Christ There Is No East Or West
In Christ there is no East or West,
In Him no South or North;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.

In Him shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find;
His service is the golden cord,
Close binding humankind.

Join hands, then, members of the faith,
Whatever your race may be!
Who serves my Father as His child
Is surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both East and West,
In Him meet North and South;
All Christly souls are one in Him
Throughout the whole wide earth.

John Oxenham, 1908

Original article by Alessandro Gisotti