Anglican leaders condemn victimisation of gays and lesbians

Rowan Williams warns against 'homophobic language' following murder of Ugandan activist David Kato

Anglican leaders from around the world yesterday reiterated their opposition to the "victimisation or diminishment" of gays and lesbians, saying demonising and persecuting them was "totally against Christian charity and basic principles of pastoral care".

The statement follows the Archbishop of Canterbury's condemnation on Friday of the killing of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato. It was approved by most Anglican primates within the communion and calls on all clergy "to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and condemn irrational fear of gay people".

"We would like to express our support for the statement of the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to the horrific murder of David Kato in Mukono, Uganda.

"We join him in saying that no one should have to live in fear because of the bigotry of others."

The issues of blessings for same-sex partnerships and the ordination of openly gay clergy have caused deep, almost irreparable divisions in the Anglican Communion.

Several archbishops boycotted the bi-annual Anglican meeting that concluded in Dublin yesterday and which issued the anti-homophobia statement, along with texts addressing a range of international issues such as Pakistan's blasphemy laws and climate change.

The archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi, who has repeatedly said that homosexuality is incompatible with scripture, has still to comment on Kato's death.

He and half a dozen other senior clerics stayed away because of developments in the US Episcopal Church, which has ordained partnered gay clergy and is developing liturgical resources for same-sex blessings.

Its leader, the Most Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, used her Sunday sermon to say Kato's voice had been "silenced".

"We can pray that others will continue that work, or be challenged by the brutality of his d! eath int o some conversion of heart."

At a press conference, held at the Emmaus Centre, Dublin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, reminded journalists that Orombi had signed an earlier pledge "deploring and condemning all violence and language about homosexual persons" while also warning that homophobic language had consequences - as illustrated by Kato's murder.

Williams acknowledged there was "a critical situation" in the communion.

"The division is very real. The question is how we cope with it. Whether we are able to stay in the same room and argue the case."


guardian.co.uk Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UK greenhouse gas emissions fall 8.7%

Image
Total UK emissions plummet as recession lowers electricity and fuel use A dramatic fall in greenhouse gas emissions following the recession has brought the UK's climate change targets for the next five years within easy reach, taking the pressure off government and business to comply. Government estimates released on Tuesday showed greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.7% from 2008 to 2009, the biggest drop since records began in 1990. Carbon dioxide levels plunged 9.8%, a fall only matched in 1980, in records extending to 1970. The unexpectedly deep slump in emissions mirrors the fall in industrial output in the recession, with high-emitting sectors including construction and transport hit particularly hard. But it also means that government-set climate change targets of cutting emissions by 35% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, now look much easier to meet. The UK has already met the targets for 2016, provided emissions stay at 2009 levels. This raises the prospect that business...
Keep reading

Top flyer boo-boo : Shut off noisy engines

LONDON: It's too noisy, could you please turn off the engines ? Could you please open the window? These are some of the "foolish" and "bizarre requests" flyers often make to flight attendants, according to a new survey. The survey of some 3,000 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members found that some passengers fail to understand why they are prevented from opening the window, others think "turning down" the engines could reduce the noise. "Please, can you open the window?" was among the most common unusual queries made by uncomfortable passengers who seem to be unaware of the benefits of a pressurised cabin at 35,000ft. Other unique questions included "could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?" and "please can the captain stop the turbulence?", the Telegraph reported. The survey also laid bare the level of comfort and service some customers expect, with several asking flight attendants "can you sho...
Keep reading

Dogs can be trained to sniff out bowel cancer, Japanese researchers say

Image
Experiments show that labrador retriever's sense of smell can identify minute traces of chemicals circulating in human body Dogs can be trained to sniff out bowel cancer, even when the disease is in its early stages, researchers in Japan claim. In a series of experiments that involved sniffing the breath or stool samples of patients, a specially-trained labrador retriever proved nearly as good at identifying those with cancer as a conventional colonoscopy examination. The team, led by Hideto Sonoda at Fukuoka dental college hospital, said some dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they can detect minute traces of chemicals that appear to circulate in the bodies of people who have cancer. The finding builds on previous experiments in which researchers used dogs to sniff out cancers in the skin, lungs, bladder and ovaries. Writing in the journal Gut , the researchers describe how the eight-year-old dog was trained to distinguish between the smell of a patient with colorectal canc...
Keep reading