Head of the Church of England visits slums surrounding Khartoum

Today's Reuters report by Opheera McDoom says the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of more than 70 million Anglicans worldwide, appealed for religious tolerance on Sunday after arriving in Sudan. Excerpt:

"I shall want to know more about how you will come to have a full share in the good things of this country," Williams told the whooping Christians in his first public address.

After visiting one of the slum camps surrounding Khartoum, where millions of southerners fled during the war, he said he also wanted to work to ensure that when they decided to return home, there was food, water and roads for them to enjoy.

Photo: The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (R) shakes hands with Sudanese Christian children before a mass at Emmanuel Church near Omdurman, north of the capital Khartoum where Islamic Sharia law is in force. As spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop is religious leader of more than 3 million southern Sudanese. During his stay, Dr Rowan Williams is expected to meet Muslim and Christian leaders and hold services throughout the country. (Reuters/Mohamed Nurledin) Full report.

Feb 27 2006 (Reuters) Archbishop urges Sudan to return Church lands

March 1 2006 (The Church of England Newspaper) Archbishops Sudan plea for tolerance

March 1 2006 (ReliefWeb) Archbishop of Canterbury meets Sudan's hungry children