Anglican leader praises missionaries for ending slavery

Malawi: Anglican Church head Rowan Williams on Saturday praised pioneer missionaries to Malawi for ending the slave trade, at a service to mark their arrival in the country 150 years ago.

"The missionaries devoted their lives to liberation and challenged the evil of slavery," Williams said at Magomero, northeast of Blantyre, at a colourful ceremony attended by President Bingu wa Mutharika and hundreds of worshippers.

The slave trade "degraded everyone and everything it touched," the Archbishop of Canterbury said, adding, "The Church has done a great job in Africa."

Speaking at the end of the first leg of a three-nation southern African tour before going on to Zimbabwe Sunday, he urged nations to "embrace true freedom and work tirelessly for reconciliation and respect for human beings."

Saying slavery, greed and repression "kills a society," he urged the faithful to "pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted in Zimbabwe."

AFP