As part of his 10-day pastoral visit to India, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby was present at the St. Paul's Cathedral service in Kolkata on Sunday. He commented that India has the incredible tradition of diversity of faiths within its history and encouraged political leaders to standby the country's religious freedom.
Welby noted the Indian constitution is deeply in the law and culture, and provides for freedom of religion and belief. As a religious leader, he wanted to encourage all political and religious leaders to seek fairly the maintenance of religious freedom. According to him, the values guaranteed in the sections dealing with freedom of religion and belief were essential for the country to flourish in the future.
Welby also mentioned that his visit to India is not as a political leader but as a religious leader. "I am here to pray with the Christians, to learn about the ancient churches of this country, to learn about Christianity in India and share the experiences with the Christians," he said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar on his last day in the country.
