Anglican Delegation Meets with Palestinian Leaders
Episcopal News Service. November 9, 1995 [95-1301A]
(ACNS) An Anglican delegation, representing Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, met with Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Mayor Elias Freij of Bethlehem to discuss the process for peace in the Middle East, and plans for millennium celebrations in Jerusalem. The Palestinians challenged the Anglicans "to take ownership of the Christian celebrations and to encourage other church leaders to do the same," said Secretary General John L. Peterson of the Anglican Communion Office in London. Church leaders may gather in Bethlehem as a visible sign of a united call for lasting peace, according to participants. "Arafat is keen to have the structures of the Anglican Communion work as a channel of communication as the peace plans continue to unfold," said Canon Andrew Deuchar, secretary for Anglican Communion affairs."