Assault on gay leaders in Nigeria
Updated Friday morning
From a press release by Changing Attitude England:
Over the Easter weekend 2008, gay leaders of Changing Attitude Nigeria were seriously assaulted. They, and the Director of Changing Attitude England, were also threatened with death because “they are polluting Nigeria with abomination and immorality”. The attacks were reported to the police in Nigeria, Togo and the UK.The letter is signed by several UK bishops and other clergy. The signers are: Revd Canon Professor Marilyn MacCord Adams, Rt Revd Michael Bourke, Rt Revd Ian Brackley, Bishop of Dorking, Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ramsbury, Very Revd Vivienne Faull, Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth, Rt Revd Richard Holloway, Rt Revd Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, Revd Sr Una Kroll, Rt Revd Richard Lewis, Rt Revd Jack Nicholls, Bishop of Sheffield, Rt Revd John Oliver, Rt Revd John Packer, Bishop of Ripon & Leeds,Christina Rees, Rt Revd Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, Rt Revd John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln, Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, Rt Revd Kenneth Stevenson, Bishop of Portsmouth, Revd Dr Anne Townsend, and The Revd Canon Angela WeaverIn an open letter to conservative Anglican church leaders twenty Anglican bishops and leaders have expressed concern about the use of incautious language and urge conservative church leaders to consider the effects of the language that they use.
The open letter can be read in its entirety in the press release.
The Lead's previous coverage of the Easter violence is here.
Friday morning updateResponding to conservative charges on conservative Anglican websites, Changing Attitude has issued a second press release that reads in part:
Those Primates, bishops and priests who are members of the GAFCON leadership team have an authority and stature among their own constituency. They are able to communicate to their followers and church members and be heard with respect. We ask them to speak now and break their silence. We ask them to state categorically that any Christian who threatens or attacks a person because they are lesbian or gay comes under the judgment of God and disobeys God’s law.
It is not always realised in England that, in many countries where the Anglican Church is strong, homosexual acts are regarded as serious criminal offences (as they were in England little more than 40 years ago). The penalty on conviction may be imprisonment for life (for example Tanzania, India, the non-sharia states of Nigeria) or imprisonment for up to 14 years (for example Kenya, Uganda, Zambia).
However much one may disapprove of other countries’ penal codes, it is understandable if the churches in those countries, irrespective of their interpretation of certain biblical texts, are unwilling to ordain as priests or consecrate as bishops men who may, for reasons which have little connection with the essentials of the Christian faith, find themselves condemned to spend much or all of their ministry in prison.
Any settlement of the current differences of opinion on gay rights should take account, with Christian sympathy, of the differing circumstances in which different provinces of the Anglican communion find themselves.
That having been said, physical assaults and death threats against homosexuals cannot be justified, even in the case of an ongoing sexual relationship. If people feel strongly opposed to homosexuality, whether on religious or other grounds, their proper course is to bring those whom they believe to be acting immorally and in breach of the law before the courts of their country, where it is to be hoped that the judges will exercise that quality of mercy which is commended both by Jesus and by some of the Old Testament prophets.
In these circumstances everyone can surely agree with the signatories of the letter when they say "We ask that all of us within the Anglican Communion be mindful of the words we use and the opinions we express when talking about LGBT people." Words can be inflammatory, and what is needed, from all and especially from Christians, is the love for one's neighbour that both Old and New Testaments enjoin, which is not limited to those who repent but extends also to those who honestly believe that their lifestyle, even if criminal in the country in which they live, is not something of which they are in need of repentance.
Edward Nugee QC
Posted by egg![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
|
September 2, 2009 10:23 AM