The past decade has been a “terrible and gruelling” 10 years in all kinds of ways, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

In his New Year message Dr Williams said it had been especially bad, with terrorism, war, natural disaster and the financial collapse of the past 15 months.

But he added: “Before we shrug our shoulders and lower our expectations, let’s not lose sight of one enormous lesson we can learn from the last decade.
“The truth is that there are fewer and fewer problems in our world that are just local. Suffering and risk spread across boundaries, even that biggest of all boundaries between the rich and the poor. Crises don’t stop at national frontiers. It’s one thing that terrorism and environmental challenge and epidemic disease have taught us.”

He asks people to recognise how their actions can make a difference.

He added: “We’re still falling short in the delivery of the Millennium Development Goals, but that doesn’t mean we can forget them or water them down.

“We’ve seen some signs of change; we can make more by supporting efforts to help children out of poverty across the world – and locally as well – by campaigns to protect our environment, by keeping up pressure on our governments.

“We share the risks. The big question is, can we share the hopes and create the possibilities? Because it’s when we do share the hopes that we really see what it is to belong together as human beings, discovering our own humanity as we honour the human dignity of others.”

Dr Williams urges people to respond to problems that are geographically remote as they would to those of their immediate family.

“Above all, it’s about not losing our hope for change and our love and respect for the dignity of everyone,” he added.

“In a world where risk and suffering are everybody’s problem, the needs of our neighbours are the needs of the whole human family. Lets respond just as we do when our immediate family is in need or trouble. We may be amazed by the difference we can make.”