CANTERBURY ARCHBISHOP TO VISIT ZAMBIA

The Archbishop of Canterbury will visit Zimbabwe next month to show solidarity with Anglicans being persecuted and will seek a meeting with President Robert Mugabe, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
Archbishop Rowan Williams has long expressed concern about the persecution of Anglicans by security forces in Zimbabwe, warning in his Christmas sermon last year that they suffered harrassment, beatings, arrests and lockouts from their churches.
A spokeswoman for the archbishop has said the aim of the trip as a whole is a pastoral visit and it’s to show solidarity with Anglicans there.
She has added that recent incidents of persecution, including the reported arrest this week of a prominent Harare priest, Julius Zimbudzana, were more of a reason to go because people need more pastoral care.
Archbishop Williams would also visit Malawi and Zambia during the trip.