Warren Throckmorton had an opinion column published in the Uganda Independent, see Guest Blog: Put down the stones.
AFP reports US slams Uganda’s new anti-gay bill.
And also, via an Australian newspaper, AFP has France slams Uganda’s anti-gay draft law.
And this report, via iAfrica.com expands on the response of Ugandan government politicians, see ‘We won’t sell our souls’.
See also MPs FORUM: Homosexuality is not a human right by David Bahati and Ndorwa West.
Box Turtle Bulletin reviews the latest developments at Uganda Parliament, Religious Leaders Weigh Death Penalty for LGBT People.
And the Uganda Monitor has an article Why anti-gay Bill should worry us by Sylvia Tamale who is is a Makerere University Law don.
Meanwhile, Colin Coward has written further about why Changing Attitude is pressing for action by Anglicans, see The Anglican Communion is committed to the inclusion and pastoral care of LGBT people.
The discussion at Fulcrum continues, and is worth following.
Andrew Goddard has published a paper which can be found at Fulcrum Briefing on ‘The Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ in Uganda.
If the Ugandan and Nigerian churches cannot come out with stronger statements than they have against these horrendous legal proposals, I can only hope that the American and Canadian churches will withdraw from the Anglican Communion as soon as is legally possible. There is no moral integrity to any other course of action. These are the churches that ++Rowan is so desperately trying to placate? Why, why, why? What is being proposed in these countries is shocking, and completely incompatible with the Gospels.
Plenty of squirming and wiggling round the issue in Andrew Goddard’s paper, plenty of dancing up to cultural relativism in hopes he could let the Ugandans off the hook for this one, though really there could be only one conclusion, and so finally there was. What a relief. Fulcrum will not support the Ugandan bill; it’s just too extreme for them. The real service of this briefing paper IMHO was to make crystal clear the close ties between the Ugandan church, the US right-wing evangelicals, and the evos and charismatics in the Church of England. Note, for example, that Archbishop… Read more »
“. . the response of Ugandan government politicians, see ‘We won’t sell our souls’.”
Given the damage done to those souls by savagery, ignorance, hate and bigotry, I shouldn’t imagine they could *give* them away.
“Uganda’s Minister for Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo said last week that Uganda has no intention of heeding the advice of foreigners on the issue of homosexuality.” – The Age, Australia This, despite the huge amount of money being spent by the US in AIDS Prevention assistance to Uganda. This out-dated prejudice on the part of Uganda against the LGBT community in Uganda can only lead to the withdrawal of outside help from countries which presently provide assistance for the public health sector in Uganda. The United Nations post presently held by Uganda, is surely subject to that country’s… Read more »
Simon – Ndorwa West is the name of Bahati’s constituency. There is something here about the consequence of the half-heartedness of church leaders. Bahati can trumpet: “On a good note, however, we have received massive support from religious leaders, the government and many people from different circles of Uganda and other countries.” It seems to me that the Church of Uganda’s House of Bishops is fairly uniformly homophobic, but are not so far gone in this antediluvian stance as to actually want to see people executed for it. If there are bishops who are not homophobic then they are not… Read more »
Although I can’t condone breaking away from the AC, it is disheartening to say the least, and probably not without some evil that our leaders in TEC and CofE can’t say something condemning this atrocity in Uganda. It is akin to the Roman Catholic and most in the Lutheran Churches’ silence when they knew what was being shipped in those railroad boxcars.
I just received an e-mail from the Presiding Bishop’s office in response to the one I sent last week asking her to speak out against the situation in Uganda:
Dear ___________,
Thank you for your recent email to Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. This is to confirm that it has been received by our office.
Once again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
Miguel Angel Escobar
Office of the Presiding Bishop
Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
**********************
How very disappointing….
I think Uganda, as others we could list, makes clear the Queer Folks Apartheid at work here. Clear, too are the intimate links of USA religious rights with other similar believers around the planet. Each time this network of communities targets its fav outsiders, Queer Folks writ large as special dirt and danger, religioin prepares the way for violence. Sooner or later, that pipers of violence must see the bill paid in public. A clear link has been, is now being, and will continue to be demonstrated between the going religious right’s approach to targeting queer folks; and subsequent violence.… Read more »
Doxy, at least the PB’s office acknowledged they received your e-mail. My bishop won’t even acknowledge I wrote him.
Like others, I feel we are on the edge of another genocidal-style explosion, and wonder what to do.
I just received an e-mail from the Presiding Bishop’s office in response to the one I sent last week asking her to speak out against the situation in Uganda: Doxy
I got exactly the same thing TODAY! Makes me want to fog up her microscope (more).
The heterosexual, emotionally and spiritually healthy man who ought be President of Uganda:
Buturo, Bahati more dangerous to Uganda than gays and lesbians
WEDNESDAY, 04 NOVEMBER 2009
By OKELLO LUCIMA
http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/component/content/article/106-myblog/2060-buturo-bahati-more-dangerous-to-uganda-than-gays-and-lesbians
Thank you, Leonardo Ricardo. What an amazing article!
It gives a new perspective on all those conservative Christians from the US preaching over there, as well.
Doxy,
I’m glad to see that you got the same warm, personal response from the PB’s office I did!
Yes, so we got form letters from the PB’s office instead of a nice warm fuzzy “Thank you, I shall take your advice immediately, Love, +Katharine.” At least it was acknowledged that it was received. Better than being left wondering. Do writers to the ABC get a similar response?
There doesn’t seem to be much vocalization on the matter from anywhere around the globe, except perhaps on blogs and web pages. What is the UN doing? Is the Human Rights Commission speaking out, or is this going to be another Darfur?
Thanks, Leonardo: fascinating article.