Waite Quits Anglican Church Position to Write Book; Condemns Terrorism During U.S. Visit
Episcopal News Service. April 10, 1992 [92081]
Anglican envoy Terry Waite has resigned his position as the archbishop of Canterbury's secretary for Anglican Communion affairs in order to write a book on his nearly five-year ordeal as a hostage in Lebanon.
Waite has accepted an honorary fellowship at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, and will spend most of the next year writing a book about his captivity in Beirut, tentatively titled Taken on Trust.
"There have been a lot of stories, but this will be mine," Waite told reporters after making his announcement.
It was Waite's role as a special envoy for the Anglican Church that took him to Lebanon in 1987. He was on a mission to negotiate the release of Western hostages when he was taken hostage himself. He was released by his captors last November.
"One of the things that happened to me in captivity was that I was deepened and strengthened in my convictions," Waite said. "I have no ambition at all to be personally rich," he added. The proceeds from Waite's book are to go towards charity work, and will support his work for justice, reconciliation, and helping the poor.
Waite, who has served with the Anglican Communion for 12 years, announced his resignation following a meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey at Lambeth Palace, the London office and residence of the archbishop. "He goes with a great deal of affection. We are sad to see him go, but it is absolutely right. He has got to write this book, and he has a wonderful future ahead of him," Carey said.
During a brief visit to the United States on March 20, Waite told members of the Episcopal Church Center staff in New York City that faith in Christ had kept him alive during his years of captivity in Lebanon.
The experience forced him "back to an inner strength, and support of the fundamental belief that the divine light of Christ would continue to shine," Waite said during the visit. "No matter what happened to the body, the soul would never be captured," he said.
Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning welcomed Waite to the Church Center and praised him for "his forthright stance on human rights and dignity. I don't know of anyone who has been prayed for as much as Terry Waite," Browning said.
A towering figure, Waite addressed the audience with a steady and resolute voice, never wavering from his contention that his mission was grounded strictly in humanitarian concerns.
Waite said that he knew he was taking a risk when he returned to Beirut in January 1987 to seek the release of Western hostages. He cited three reasons why his final trip outweighed the risks. "I had seen the families of hostages who have suffered appallingly because they did not know if their relatives died. If there was a slightest chance to find information [on the hostages], then it was worth taking the risk."
In addition, Waite said that it "was a matter of personal pride and the reputation of the church" that he continue in his efforts, following unsubstantiated charges that he had been involved in arms-for-hostages dealings. Waite described those charges as having "pulled the rug from under my feet." There was "no question whatsoever of my dealing in arms," he said.
Finally, Waite said that he had been informed by kidnappers that hostages Terry Anderson and Tom Sutherland were terribly ill and near death. "I wanted to visit them on behalf of the church," he said.
Waite said that his Christian faith had helped him "to work through the experience of suffering and isolation," and that he had returned "firmly convinced that what we had done was right. The church behaved with integrity and had seen the issue through," he said.
"In a small way, we had taken on terrorism on the only grounds that it is possible -- a spiritual ground," Waite added. And he said that the experience taught that "those who practice terrorism -- who maim and kill innocent people -- are cowards."
Waite called on the church "to remember those in the Middle East who are suffering, especially the captors, and hostages -- the German hostages that are still there," he said. "Pray that peace and reconciliation may come to that part of the world, that the light of Christ may touch those who do not know it."
![[thumbnail: Anglican Envoy Terry Wait...]](/e-archives/ENS/photographs/thumbnails/92081_thb.jpg) |