COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue, DD
January 23, 2025
He has done it again. This time over the war in Gaza.
The first time the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell was accused of mouthing “empty words” of contrition was after a child abuse scandal rocked the Church of England.
The Bishop of Newcastle criticized the Christmas Day sermon delivered by the Archbishop of York in which he said the Church should “kneel in penitence” as it continues to face criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals, describing his suggestion as “empty words.”
Now he has gone and done it again over a ceasefire call in Gaza.
Cottrell who has become the temporary leader of the Church of England in place of the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has also faced calls to resign.
Now the archbishop has released a statement on the ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas saying; “My prayers are with all the families being reunited over the coming days, and for those who are still held in captivity. My prayers too are with the people of Gaza who have suffered such immense destruction, deprivation and displacement. Now must be the time – again, so long overdue – for unfettered aid to reach the people of Gaza, and for the indispensable role of UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] to be respected and protected by all parties. May this deal be a precursor to a wider, more durable and just settlement in the region: it must not be a false dawn.”
He called for prayers for Anglican Archbishop Hosam and our Anglican sisters and brothers in Palestine and Israel, and for all the Christians of the Holy Land as they bear the light of Christ in such dark times. “Pray too for the courageous staff of the Anglican Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, and those in their care. Across the West Bank, this war is being felt not just in the daily grievous news from Gaza, but through widespread intensification of the occupation. I pray this deal acts as a catalyst to bring freedom, justice and dignity to the Palestinian people as well as being a small step towards the long-term security of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Let us unpack this.
First of all, aid has been getting into Gaza. There is a blame game over violence and starvation with Israel taking nearly all the heat. Humanitarian agencies, Israel's allies and other countries have accused Israel of not doing enough to ensure that food gets to those who need it. Some have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.
All aid for Gaza is subject to strict Israeli security checks aimed at preventing anything that could be used by Hamas from entering. But aid groups say these are complex and arbitrary, causing major delays.
Israel has denied impeding the entry of aid to Gaza and accuses aid organizations of failing to distribute it. An Israeli spokesman cried, "UN, do your job. The bottlenecks are not on the Israeli side."
Furthermore, Israel says it is building a new land crossing into northern Gaza, where starvation is most acute, after previously promising to open the Erez crossing. The new crossing would handle up to 50 aid trucks a day and the first trucks have already crossed it, Israeli officials say.
Israel has also said it will allow the Ashdod deep water port a short distance to the north to be used as well as allowing more aid from Jordan to enter via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of gradually increasing Gaza aid deliveries to pre-war levels of 500 trucks a day.
UNRWA has a checkered history with Israel ever since it was discovered that
12 staff members from UN Palestine relief agency UNRWA were involved in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. Why should Israel play ball with UNRWA?
Present in Cottrell’s rip were veiled accusations that the blame for all this lay at Israel’s feet. There was no mention of the terrorist organization called Hamas, no mention of who started this war, no mention of “from the river to the sea” a not so veiled reference to the obliteration of Israel. No mention of Hamas as a proxy of Iran to continue the war once the ceasefire deal is signed off on. No mention that the “destruction, deprivation and displacement” was caused by Hamas who could have surrendered the hostages and themselves to prevent all the blood shed that followed.
All we get from the Church of England’s second most powerful leader is vague prayers for the families, and hopes it would not be a “false dawn.”
Well, if it is, you can blame Hamas and its allies. Will Hamas use the ceasefire to rearm, rebuild and recruit new younger Hamas terrorists to continue the war? Cottrell nowhere acknowledges that possibility even though there is photographic evidence of new young recruits dressed in Hamas gear waving guns and ready to continue the fight.
All we got were more “empty words”, a hollow man who never saw fit to expose a pedophile he once called a “Rolls Royce priest”, an archbishop who now sadly leads the Church of England.
END
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