Orombi clarifies, digs deeper

New Vision reports that Henry Orombi, Anglican Primate of Uganda, has clarified statements he made earlier in the week:

Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi yesterday clarified that he did not say gays were planning to kill him or that he fears for his life over his campaign against the practice. This followed reports that the bishop had told Christians at Kitunga in Ntungamo district that he feared for his life over his anti-gay stance. Orombi noted that gays were not only in the church, but were a big movement and some of them were drug addicts, who could kill anybody.
His earlier remarks were rather specific, including:
“Nowadays, I don’t wear my collar when I am in countries which have supporters of homosexuals,” he said while addressing Christians at Kitunga archdeaconry, West Ankole diocese in Ntungamo district.

“I am forced to dress like a civilian because those people are dangerous. They can harm anybody who is against them. Some of them are killers. They want to close the mouth of anybody who is against them.”

It seems the hair the Archbishop seeks to split is that he does not fear that homosexuals are out to kill him specifically. But if so, why not wear his collar?


The Monitor has more on Orombi's gay bashing:

“The team of homosexuals is very rich,["] Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi said, “They have money and will do whatever it takes to make sure that this vice penetrates Africa. We have to stand out and say no to them.”
Archbishop Orombi, on a week-long tour of the western region said the advocates of homosexuality, a crime under the Uganda code act, are taking advantage of the abject poverty in Africa to lure people into their club."
The Monitor also says "He said his life was under threat from the gay community." This is the same conclusion New Vision came to in its original reporting of the story.

Posted by John B. Chilton on July 11, 2008 10:29 AM | |
Comments (5)

I suppose there are no straight drug addicts in the church, who could kill anybody?

- Nathan Empsall

Posted by TransplantedTexan [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2008 11:04 AM

Orombi is in the process of doing what Akinola has already done--ruining his crediblity as a spokesperson for the movement. This is an encouraging development. What credibility the Global South has hinges on the media's mistaken perception that it "speaks for Africa," where Christianity is on the move. In fact, it speaks "through" Africa on behalf of Western conservatives. As the circle of those whom Minns, et al. will trust in front of a camera shrinks, the whiteness of the movement (Jensen, Minns, Sugden, Atwood, Anderson) becomes more apparent.

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2008 11:50 AM

The Christian response to evil is always love, and therefore conversion.

It seems to me Orombi is driven by fear. It radiates from his words - fear that is manipulated and used, but fear nevertheless.

Let us not give in to fear of him as he has for us. Let us not use hate or manipulation as he has.

Let us rather love, and so convert - if not him, then at least his followers whom he manipulates (with fear) so effectively.

In this country many who were against the ordination of women 'came over' by seeing an ordained woman and feeling her very real ministry, and therefore giving the lie to the fear mongers. So too with the ordination of openly gay clergy. Upon contact and witness of their ministry, they become seen as clergy first, loving clergy, driving out fear, replacing it with love - not dishing out fear as Orombi does, a very nonclerical thing to do, sorely in need of redemption.

--Rev. Steve Holton

Posted by Steve [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2008 12:12 PM

Jim, your list of whiteness could go on of course. Several names jump immediately to mind.

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 11, 2008 12:23 PM

Lisa Fox thinks Orombi may have jumped the shark. Can he still be taken seriously after this? Isn't it strange this story has been picked up by The Telegraph, but is being ignored is some other corners where Orombi has become an inconvenient truth.

http://my-manner-of-life.blogspot.com/2008/07/orombi-comedy-hour.html

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | July 12, 2008 9:11 PM

Add your comments

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Reminder: At Episcopal Café, we hope to establish an ethic of transparency by requiring all contributors and commentators to make submissions under their real names. For more details see our Feedback Policy.

Advertising Space