THE Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a statement in solidarity with the Pope, whose repeated calls for peace in the Middle East and elsewhere have been criticisied by President Trump.
“I urge Anglicans across the Church of England and the Anglican Communion to join with His Holiness in raising our voices for peace and justice throughout the world,” Archbishop Mullally said in the statement, released on Thursday afternoon.
“I stand with my brother in Christ, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace. As innocent people are killed and displaced, families torn apart, and futures destroyed, the human cost of war is incalculable.
“It is the calling of every Christian — and of all people of faith and goodwill — to work and pray for peace. We must also urge all those entrusted with political authority to pursue every possible peaceful and just means of resolving conflict.”
The Archbishop is due to visit Rome next weekend, from 25 to 28 April, after an exchange of letters with the Pope before her installation last month (News, 26 March). As she prepared for this visit, she was, she said, “mindful of [the Pope’s] call to keep our eyes open to the suffering of the world, and our gaze fixed on our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ — the image of the invisible God, in whose image and likeness every human being is made.
“In him, we recognise that we are children of the one Father and members of a single human family. Prayer is not an escape from the world, nor a turning away from injustice; rather, it is a turning towards God in the midst of it, confronting evil, seeking God’s will, and becoming instruments of transformation and peace.”
On Monday, Pope Leo rebuffed criticism from President Trump, who had claimed in a social-media post on Sunday that the American Pontiff owed his election to him (News, 15 April). “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” he wrote. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use common sense, stop catering to the radical left, and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician.”
The Chicago-born Pope has repeatedly appealed for an end to US and Israeli attacks on Iran, advocating for peace. During his flight to Algeria on Monday, marking the start of an 11-day tour of Africa, he told journalists: “I have no fear of the Trump Administration or speaking out loudly the message of the Gospel. I continue to speak strongly against war.”
On Thursday, he posted on social media: “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
In her statement, Archbishop Mullally urged people to stand in solidarity with the Pope, to “love our neighbour as ourselves, especially the neighbour who suffers. . . Our shared humanity has long inspired peacemakers across generations, whether Christian or not.”
She concluded: “I therefore urge Anglicans across the Church of England and the Anglican Communion to join with His Holiness in raising our voices for peace and justice throughout the world. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, blesses the peacemakers and calls them children of God.
“In a time marked by hatred, division, and violence, may we be steadfast in that calling — witnesses to hope, agents of reconciliation, and bearers of God’s peace in a wounded world.”