In the aftermath of a severe earthquake and anti-Christian rioting, the Archbishop of Canterbury traveled Nov. 22 to Pakistan at the invitation of the Anglican Church of Pakistan.

During his eight-day visit, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams commended earthquake relief efforts and encouraged the “small Church in the middle of a society that is mostly not Christian” to continue to give “compassion” and “service” as a “witness.” The Oct. 8 earthquake killed more than 70,000 people and left an estimated 3 million homeless, many of whom lived in remote mountain regions where winter is approaching and the threat of epidemic disease and frostbite acute. The day after his arrival, he visited a tented village on the outskirts of Islamabad where displaced victims are being temporarily sheltered.

“I was very moved to see how efficiently the displaced victims of the earthquake disaster are being cared for,” he said. “Equally impressive were the plans for the reconstruction of communities and for moving people away from dependency with practical help to rebuild their lives.”

After visiting the tented village Archbishop Williams delivered a lecture to an audience of students and academics at the International Islamic University in Islamabad. His talk focused on some of the core beliefs which hold Christians together as well as some popular misconceptions. During that afternoon he participated in a round-table discussion of the question: Is inter faith dialogue possible? He told the delegates that religious representatives needed to be clear about the terms of engagement.

“Dialogue is not debate; dialogue is not proselytism; dialogue is not the attempt to persuade; dialogue is not negotiation,” he explained. “When I enter dialogue with someone of another religious tradition...I am not out to secure agreement, but to secure understanding. An honest and constructive dialogue leads us to go away thinking ‘Now I begin to see a little better what it is like to hold those views, pray those prayers and to live those lives.’”

Archbishop Williams had dinner and a private meeting with the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, hosted a lunch for Archbishop Williams. He also met with the Minister for Religious Affairs, Mr. Muhammad Ijaz ul Haq. Discussion at that meeting centered around the challenge of religious education and the protection of religious minorities in Pakistan, especially after the Sangla Hills incident on Nov. 12 in which more than 1,500 Muslims burned a number of churches, Christian schools and homes. Police said the riots began after religious leaders said a Christian had burned a copy of the Koran and urged people to seek vengeance.

In an interview with reporters, Archbishop Williams commended the national leaders for condemning the violence and blamed the abuse of religious blasphemy laws.

“The problem is not so much the idea of a law against blasphemy as about a law whose penalty is so severe and whose practice gives so much scope for allowing people to settle private scores,” said.

Anglican Communion News Service and Zenit news agency contributed to this report.

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