PB, other Christians leaders praise Obama’s Cairo speech

From Episcopal Life Online:

A diverse group of U.S. Christian leaders has written to President Barack Obama following his historic June 4 speech in Cairo saying they stand ready to support “robust U.S. peacemaking efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

Signed by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and more than 50 Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical and African American church leaders, the open ecumenical letter to Obama noted that “after decades of tragic conflict, many Israelis and Palestinians despair of the possibility of peace, yet with your determined leadership we believe the promise of two viable, secure and independent states can be realized.”

Obama’s speech formed part of his first official visit to the Middle East and followed several weeks of intense U.S. diplomacy with Arab and Israeli leaders in Washington, D.C. Delivered to a predominantly Muslim audience at Cairo University, his address tackled global concerns such as violent extremism, the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons, democracy, religious freedom, women’s rights, and economic development and opportunity.