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| - The Church of England's second most important cleric used his farewell service as the Archbishop of York on Sunday to reflect on the brutality of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and pray for those who suffered hardship during the lockdown in Britain. John Sentamu stirred up the Church of England with his focus on racial injustice and inner-city crime when he became Britain's first senior black bishop in 2002. He first challenged the Church and other British institutions to address the problem of institutional racism in 1999. Sentamu became the Archbishop of York -- informally the second-most important post in the hierarchy after the Archbishop of Canterbury -- 15 years ago. The 70-year-old recalled fleeing Amin's reign of terror in 1974 and other hardships in his final prayer on BBC Radio York. "I have lived through Idi Amin's brutality in Uganda, salmonella poisoning, a burst appendix, prostate cancer and three serious operations," Sentamu said. "Through all of that, I have known that my life is here with Christ and God." The BBC's religion and ethics editor Ashley Peatfield called Sentamu "a cornerstone of the Church for 15 years (who) has become a household name to millions". Sentamu became a nationally beloved figure for his devotion to overtly political causes and embrace of his cultural roots. He campaigned against the US-led war in Iraq and accused Washington of breaking international law over its treatment of captives at Guantanamo Bay. He told The Guardian newspaper last week that unarmed black man George Floyd's death at police hands was a consequence of the US authorities not "listening to the real problems of African Americans and people of colour". He offered a prayer on Sunday to those whose "homes may have felt like a prison" during Britain's two-month coronavirus lockdown. "Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe. Let us dream together, pray together, work together, and build one world of peace and justice for all," he said in his farewell. Sentamu will officially be succeeded as the Archbishop of York by Stephen Cottrell next month. Anglican priest Arun Arora called Sentamu one of the Church's "most powerful, prophetic and joyous voices". "In Church terms, Sentamu has been a moderniser," Arora wrote in The Observer newspaper. "There is little doubt that, even in his retirement, until his last breath, Sentamu will continue to advocate for the voiceless, speak out against injustice and tell of the glories of the Lord." Sentamu served as a high court judge in Uganda and was imprisoned for delivering a guilty verdict in the criminal trial of one of Amin's family members. He later recalled "being kicked around like a human football" while he was in jail. Sentamu was ordained at the Ridley Hall theological training college in Cambridge in 1979. One of his last major acts involved breaking tradition once more and becoming the first archbishop to ordain his own wife last year. "With my husband retiring next summer, it felt right to explore a calling," Margaret Sentamu said at the time. She and the couple's daughter Grace Sentamu-Baverstock joined Sunday's farewell service. zak/jxb
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