The fight against AIDS and poverty, environmental issues and justice for refugee claimants are among the priorities for action listed by Archbishop Andrew S. Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, in his annual New Year’s Day sermon preached at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.
Archbishop Hutchison also had praise for chaplains in Canada’s Armed Forces whom he described as “among the unsung heroes of our Church and our society.”
Since 1984, the Canadian Anglican Primate has delivered a New Year’s Day sermon in the cathedral in the nation’s capital, aimed at the nation’s leaders and at the diplomatic corp.
While expressing appreciation “for all those who serve on our behalf both in the Government and the Loyal Opposition and for those who represent us in the diplomatic service,” the Anglican Primate also took government to task for several things that were not done in 2006.
He called on Government to deliver on the promise to make generic drugs available at affordable prices to AIDS sufferers and urged national leaders to give high priority to a commitment to the Kyoto Accord. He also called on Government to implement the terms of the Kelowna Accord with native peoples and to promote intervention and humanitarian aid to Darfur “so that the tragedy of Rwanda is not repeated.”
The start of a new year, Archbishop Hutchison said, “gives us an opportunity … to awake to the Spirit stirring within us and among us, to call us to the fullness of our humanity.”
The full text of Archbishop Hutchison’s New Year’s Day sermon can be found at www.anglican.ca
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