A small practical footnote to some of the recent discussion, especially in respect of widows and orphans. One of the things about the African situation which we don't always register is, of course, that we are dealing frequently with societies that have no universal pension base. And this means that the financial pressure on carers is enormous. There's not a great deal we can do about that globally, but there are some very specific issues which came home to me in conversations with Ugandan colleagues in recent years - which have to do with the fact that, of course, many of the African Churches have no pension scheme for clergy. When we ask about where we can assist, where practical help can be given in partnership with the Anglican Provinces in Africa, this is one area where collaboration and joint planning is of considerable, immediate practical importance with respect to this particular question.

© Rowan Williams 2004