Bosnia: Bishop calls for 'use of the sword'

THE Bishop of Barking, the Right Rev Roger Sainsbury, became the first senior member of the Church of England to speak out in favour of military action against the Serbs attacking Sarajevo when he told BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme yesterday: 'I'm not asking the Prime Minister to use the full force of British military might, but to deploy troops and give full support to US plans to get Nato to bomb Serbian targets.'

He went on: 'For Christians it is sometimes necessary to use the sword to protect defenceless people. Only strong Western action is going to save the people of Sarajevo . . . I am ashamed to be part of a church that has given no leadership on this issue and I believe people in the pews are ashamed, too.'

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