Episcopal Press and News

Waite Speaks at Sheboygan Sesquicentennial

Episcopal News Service. May 9, 1997 [97-1757G]

(ENS) Terry Waite, the former envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury who was held hostage in Iran for five years, spoke recently at the sesquicentennial celebration of Grace Episcopal Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Waite said the Anglican Church became involved in international conflict when relatives of hostages implored them to help because regular diplomatic avenues were not working. Waite said that the terrorists in the Middle East were a symptom and that the urgent problem there is the lack of decent opportunities for the poor. He urged those gathered to support the United Nations. "Yes, it is a hopeless bureaucracy," he admitted. "But it is the only global agency with reasonable effectiveness."