Archbishop of York's hard-hitting message

The Archbishop of York has called on the world to show its love of God by working to end human rights violations.

Dr John Sentamu delivered his Christmas message, in which he made reference to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, at a packed York Minster.

He told worshippers that every individual was a "stand-in for God", who needed to be treated with dignity and respect.

The Uganda-born 58-year-old, who cut up his dog collar on television earlier this month to demonstrate his solidarity with people suffering in Zimbabwe, spoke out in support of those who are struggling throughout the world.

They ranged from those caught in the world's war zones to the parents of Madeleine McCann and murdered Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones, and to relatives of those killed in the Omagh bombing.

He said: "In the killing, raping and looting fields of Darfur; in the broken nation and a broken people of Zimbabwe who have been force-fed with injustice and can swallow no more; for the unreconciled children of Abraham in the Middle East - the Palestinians without a viable state they can call home and Israelis hungry for peace and security; for the refugees, the homeless and people caught up in human trafficking; in the walls of silence about the abduction of Madeleine McCann, the murder of Rhys Jones and the failure for any to take responsibility for the Omagh bombing - God is being violated and blasphemed."

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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