Archbishop Welby visits Egypt; offers condolences for murdered Christians

Archbishop Welby with Pope Tawadros

A few days after Cardinal Nichols visited Christian refugees in Iraq, the Archbishop of Canterbury has visited Egypt to offer his condolences following the murder of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya.

During the two-day visit Archbishop Justin Welby met with the head of the Coptic Church, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar. He also met with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. On Sunday evening he preached at a joint Egyptian-Sudanese Eucharist service at All Saints Cathedral in Cairo.

The Archbishop was hosted by Bishop Mouneer Anis, Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and the Primate of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Speaking to the BBC during the visit, the Archbishop said: ''I believe Islamic State is deeply evil - even to its own supporters." "Simply to turn our backs on people in such struggle and suffering is totally unacceptable. Equally, to say the simple solution is that 'you will leave that area and come to our place...' - we all know that that is, again, an invitation to ethnic cleansing on a grand scale."

During the interview the Archbishop also spoke of the "appalling news" that 700 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. He said that Europe "cannot be uncaring" and must exercise "love and generosity" towards migrants fleeing desperate situations. "We need to share the burden. Of course, we have to be aware of the impact of immigration on our own communities. But when people are drowning in the Mediterranean, the need, the misery that has driven them out of their own countries, is so extreme, so appalling, that Europe as a whole must rise up and seek to do what is right."

In his Easter sermon the Archbishop highlighted the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa, including the 148 people killed in an attack on a Kenyan university earlier this month.

Source: Archbishop of Canterbury