Williams worried about Christians in the Holy Land
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is "worried deeply" over the dwindling numbers of Christians in the Holy Land, the Associated Press reports.
The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican communion, on a four-day trip to the Middle East, addressed the subject Saturday during a sermon for hundreds at the River Jordan, according to the AP. Earlier, he dedicating the cornerstone of an Anglican church to be built at the site where tradition says Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
Williams said it was the church's duty to support Christians who face hardship due to regional conflicts, the AP reports. Christians make up about 5 percent of Jordan's 6 million people, and have a minor presence in most other countries in the Mideast.
Ghazi Musharbash, who cares for orphans in Amman, said that a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is crucial for Christians to remain in the Mideast.
"We don't want to have our fellow Christians from the West coming to see only stones and museums," he told the AP.
