In this season of Lent, the Episcopal News Service returns to its ongoing series of articles focusing on listening and learning throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion, reflecting the diversity of its 38 autonomous provinces in 165 countries.
The series will also provide useful information regarding the Anglican Communion's Listening Process -- reaffirmed by the Primates at their February meeting near Dar es Salaam -- which strives to honor the process of mutual listening, particular to the experience of homosexual persons.
The first article in the series hears the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, lending his support to a clergyman imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea for his peaceful political views.
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Archbishop of Canterbury appeals for imprisoned African cleric
[Lambeth Palace] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, is lending his support to an Amnesty International appeal for the Rev. Bienvenido Samba Momessori, a clergyman imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea for his peaceful political views.
In an article printed in this week's New Statesman, Williams attacks "the ongoing scandal of imprisonment without trial as a sanction against peaceful dissidents or ethnic minorities." He added: "To let this go unchallenged in any area is to sell the pass for universal justice. And that is not an option for any religious person, or indeed anyone who thinks human dignities and liberties are more than a local arrangement for the convenience of the prosperous."
Williams warns of the danger religious leaders face as they may be caught in conflicts between "minority ethnic groups and arbitrary national administrations, from the old South Africa to East Timor ... They deserve support from believers and unbelievers alike."
"The energy for political liberation and the health of civil society depends massively on the churches in a great number of divided and deprived nations," he said.
Samba, pastor of the Church of Cherubs and Seraphs, was arrested on October 26, 2003. He is being held in Evinayong Prison in Equatorial Guinea without charge or trial. Conditions are harsh; provision of food remains inadequate in all prisons in Equatorial Guinea. Amnesty International believes he was arrested solely on grounds of his known, peaceful political opinions and ethnic origin, and considers him to be a prisoner of conscience. Further information is available here.
