Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury praises successor
Dr George Carey spoke positively about his successor, Dr Rowan Williams during his last pastoral visit to east London as Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday. Speaking before a service in Dagenham, he said of Dr Williams: "He will come with many excellent gifts. He is a very profound theologian." Dr Carey dismissed suggestions that there was a problem because Dr Williams was being seen in the media as more liberal than he was. He said: "When people try to insinuate that he's somehow in a different part of the church I would say no. "We will be praying for Rowan, the church will remain united, committed to the big picture, looking out into our society, not letting our internal quarrels get in the way" The Archbishop also repeated his opposition to war on Iraq - a view he shares with Dr Williams. Saying he was "not convinced" by the government's argument that military action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was justified, he said: "all diplomatic and political means" must be pursued in an attempt to prevent a conflict. He said: "The dossier that we saw in the House of Commons, I don't think gives grounds, convincing grounds, to launch a ground warfare against Iraq." In the past Dr Carey has said he fears an attack on Iraq would deepen the crisis of terrorism in the world. Before leaving, he said he wished Dr Williams luck in his new role, telling him to "enjoy the job", saying it was "very demanding work with many opportunities to make a difference".