The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, returning from a Middle East trip, has said that the care he saw being given to a baby in Bethlehem was a shining reminder of the Christmas message - that God's love comes to us as a gift.

In his Christmas sermon, Dr Williams told how, whilst visiting a crèche attached to Bethlehem's Holy Family Hospital funded by international donations, he cradled an abandoned new-born child in his arms.

He recounts asking the hospital's director, Robert Tabash why the standard of care was so good, despite the harsh economic conditions in the town: "Dr Tabash said that all of this is important simply because 'the poorest deserve the best'."

Dr Williams said: "'The poorest deserve the best': when you hear that, I wonder if you can take in just how revolutionary it is. They do not deserve what's left over when the more prosperous have had their fill, or what can be patched together on a minimal budget as some sort of damage limitation. And they don't 'deserve' the best because they've worked for it and everyone agrees they've earned it. They deserve it simply because their need is what it is and because where human dignity is least obvious it's most important to make a fuss about it."