Amazon.co.uk:
What had you done before 1980 which made you the right man for the
job of Archbishop's Adviser for Anglican Communion Affairs?
Terry Waite:
As a young man I studied conflict resolution and allied subjects,
and worked for some years in Uganda. My wife and I lived through the Amin coup
in that country and had a brush with death on more than one occasion. Following
that, we moved to Rome where for several years I travelled the world helping
design health and education programmes for the Roman Catholic Church. Because I
had a wide experience of the Church of England, the Worldwide Anglican
Communion and social and political situations through the world, Archbishop
Runcie considered that I would be a useful person to assist him in his global
Anglican responsibilities.
Amazon.co.uk: Travels with a
Primate is a very light-hearted book. How did you come to write
it?
Waite:
Robert Runcie and I did two evenings together to raise money for
the homeless. We invited people to dinner and afterwards told them some amusing
stories about our travels together. This is how the book had its beginning.
Also, I wanted to try my hand at writing a humorous book. There is so much doom
and gloom around and much that goes under the name of humour hardly appeals to
me. So, I wrote
Travels with a
Primate.
Amazon.co.uk:
Humphrey Carpenter's
biography paints Runcie
as a bit of a lightweight--a bon vivant--an Anglo-Catholic socialite who
enjoyed a good gossip. Is this a fair portrait?
Waite:
I remember Robert Runcie for three things. First, his modesty. He
never sought to be Archbishop but accepted the office when it came to him and
did his best to fulfil it. He never spoke about the fact that during World War
Two he was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing a colleague from a burning
tank. I could give many other examples of this appealing quality of his.
Second, his compassion. He was always ready to help individuals who were in
difficulty and accepted them no matter what they had done. Thirdly, his humour.
He was a great wit and could laugh at himself just as he could laugh at life.
He was a good storyteller and that may account for some of the things that
Carpenter said about him. What those who did not know him well could not have
known was that he was a man of prayer. Often when we were travelling together
he would slip away for time to be quiet. Yes, he loved life and people loved
him. He was equally at home with someone with low church leanings as with
members of the Orthodox or Roman Catholic Communities.
Amazon.co.uk:
What was your most memorable experience in your travels with the
Archbishop?
Waite:
There are many but two stand out. I arranged the first visit of an
Archbishop of Canterbury to mainland China and travelled with him when the
country was beginning to open up somewhat following the cultural revolution. I
also was with him in Ghana when he first met the Pope and invited him to visit
Canterbury.
Amazon.co.uk:
How did your job in the Archbishop's Office first get you involved
in the tricky business of Middle East hostages?
Waite:
When the small Anglican Church in Iran got into difficulties
during the revolution, some members of the Church disappeared and I went out to
help them. Eventually all were released. This led to my visiting Libya to help
with the release of hostages there and finally to the Middle East.
Amazon.co.uk:
Since your time in the Archbishop's Office, what developments in
the Anglican Communion do you find most frustrating or disappointing?
Waite:
I am not a scholar but I regret the lack of scholarship in the
Church. Neither am I a clergyman, that is not my vocation, but one reason for
having an ordained ministry is so that an individual might be set apart to
study and to teach and to be a pastor. I have a feeling that too many clergy
become too busy with matters that are not central to their calling. I also feel
that we have followed a trend in the nation by not understanding the importance
of tradition and that we have failed to appreciate the importance of language
in liturgy. I wonder if the Church understands how to address the spiritual
needs of the age. Within the Anglican Communion it is a matter of regret that
divisions have occurred. I would have wished that the Communion might have
spent more time in consultation before instituting changes that have had a
profound effect on the whole body of the Church.
Amazon.co.uk:
What have you done since your return from captivity? Do Anglican
leaders draw on your experience now or have you retired from "active duty"?
Waite:
When I returned from captivity I was elected to a Fellowship at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where I wrote my first book,
Taken on
Trust. I had already decided that I would not return to my old
work at Lambeth as Robert Runcie had retired. I don't believe that one ought to
"go back" in life. I wanted to read more, write and lecture in order to earn my
own living. I also wanted to give a good part of the year away to the
humanitarian concerns that have interested me across life. I am an active
President of Emmaus UK, the organisation for the homeless. I continue as
President of Y Care, the agency for young people's development which I founded
in the early 1980s. I have just returned from visiting our street-children
programmes in Colombia, South America. I work as a trustee of the Butler Trust,
an agency that supports those who work in prisons. The Terry Waite award is
given each year to a member of the Prison Service who has excelled in work with
long term prisoners. I also am a trustee of Victim Support and visit many
projects throughout the country. I lecture around the world. I am active in
working with hostage families and sometimes engage in hostage situations. I
also lecture to the police and prison service on negotiation skills. I play an
active part in the Freeplay Trust, the trust of the group that makes the windup
radio. I write and broadcast. I don't do a great deal with the organised Church
as such partly because I am hardly asked. Despite a lot of lip service I don't
think the Church knows how to use the services of lay men and women. I prefer
to be "out and about" and don't have a great deal of patience to deal with some
of the issues that seem to take up the time of many church people.
Amazon.co.uk:
In your travels you have met many Christians of other traditions.
What signs of hope do you see for Church unity?
Waite:
Structural unity is a long way off. Unity already exists between
those who understand the faith and get on with life and attempt to put their
belief into action.
Amazon.co.uk:
How would you like to be remembered?
Waite:
I never think about this and I don't particularly want to be
remembered.
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