Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said Thursday that it is “outrageous” to characterize people concerned about admitting Syrian refugees as racist.
Welby told Parliament’s The House magazine that thus far, Europe’s handling of the crisis has “[deepened] the crisis very, very significantly.”
He praised the efforts of the UK and Germany in “leading the world” in admitting refugees, but cautioned the government against ignoring concerns among citizens.
“There is a tendency to say ‘those people are racist,’ which is just outrageous, absolutely outrageous,” Welby explained. “Fear is a valid emotion at a time of such colossal crisis. This is one of the greatest movements of people in human history. Just enormous, and to be anxious about that is very reasonable.”
“It is really important that that fear is listened to and addressed.”