The Lead

Andrew Brown of the Guardian rejects the arguments of church officials, American and English, who think they should keep silent about the anti-gay legislation currently before the Ugandan parliament:

We can't know whether the protests of Anglican leaders outside Uganda will make the bill more or less likely to pass. There is a history in recent years of nationalist thugs in the region using western support for gay rights to increase their own popularity as homophobes. This has happened in a church context both in Malawi and Zimbabwe, and it might very well happen again in Uganda. So it is possible to argue quite reasonably in favour of doing nothing, or quiet diplomacy as it is known in the trade.
But I don't think these arguments are in the end convincing, and for three reasons. The first is that the situation could hardly be worse. If nothing is done, the bill will very probably pass. So the worst that any intervention could accomplish is to fail to prevent what we are trying to stop, rather than bringing it about. The second is that the Anglican church of Uganda is not really part of the same communion any longer as the Church of England. It was one of the driving forces behind the Gafcon meeting last summer. The third, and the most important one, is that the Church of England needs to retain some connection with the generally accepted morality of the nation around it. These days, killing gay people for having sex is no longer regarded as a moral act. It may be that the Ugandan church will excuse itself by saying that it cannot flout Ugandan public opinion. But why should the Church of England be allowed to flout English concepts of decency by acquiescing with its silence in this crime?

Among the debateable assumptions informing the silence on both sides of the Atlantic is that those who won't speak have a deep knowledge of Ugandan politics and a precise understanding of how any statement from them would play out. If you accept this version of events, you may believe that the relevant church leaders are bravely standing up to activists in their churches who would force them into rash behavior. If you do not accept it, you may believe that what these leaders are doing is eroding their credibility with their supporters and undermining their moral authority to speak out on other issues.

Comments (5)

More complete news coverage of the latest can be found here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/27/uganda-bill-proposes-gay-executions

The silence becomes more outrageous by the minute, waiting another week for the "meeting" is just sad.

Posted by Michael Russell | November 28, 2009 6:03 PM

Dear Michael, we´re lucky there will be a Executive Council meeting in a week...unfortunately, the ¨meeting¨ needed to be forced into ¨being¨ (and ought be face to face and not on a ¨conference call¨)...now, this moralike action of ¨interest¨ makes me disgusted (and most probably will result in restating our positive hopes for LGBT Christians as voiced at General Convention).

I wish it weren´t so but authoring/authorizing and carefully plotting out a $175,000, ONE TIME, washed out overworded message/print AD in National Newspaper a week ago...well, it is not ¨carrying TEC vital, life and death, ministry message.¨

REAL LIVES ARE AT STAKE!

However, I think a leader, or our council of leaders, who would authorize a full page print ad DENOUNCING the MURDER and/or persecution of LGBT/families, friends and WITCH HUNTS in Uganda and WORLDWIDE might be more lifegiving and spirit revealing!

A full page ad stating clearly the Episcopal Church´s OPPOSITION to the murdering of CHILD WITCHES in Uganda and Nigeria would be a good use of $175,000. too!

Have we lost sight of priorities at The Episcopal Church and become political wimps? When are we going to speak out clearly and loudly for what WE truly believe?

Posted by Leonardo Ricardo | November 28, 2009 10:21 PM

"(and ought be face to face and not on a ¨conference call¨)"

There simply is not the money to pay for a one-topic face-to-face meeting of 40 people at this point no matter how noble and just the cause is. EC's budget was cut just like everyone else's.

Posted by Lee Alison | November 29, 2009 12:29 PM

Sweden is threatening to cut off all aid to Uganda if this goes through - a government not a church! Read it here. At least they "get it"

Posted by Ann Fontaine | November 29, 2009 12:58 PM

"... you may believe that what these leaders are doing is eroding their credibility with their supporters and undermining their moral authority to speak out on other issues..."

Count me as one that does not accept that things could possibly be made worse and this silence has indeed caused me to question the moral authority of our PB, and dismiss outright the moral authority of the ABC, and regard the Bishop of York as fundamentally evil.

I continue to pray for them, that one day they will find the light and love of Christ in their hearts, but for now, I can't see how anyone can argue that it has not gone out.
-Jadvar
Jadvar Johnson

Posted by jj | November 29, 2009 2:48 PM

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