The Lead

BBC Radio 4's "Sunday" program has looked into the situation in the Ugandan Parliament with a bill promoting anti-gay measures and found more of the "deafening silence" within the Anglican Communion that has many asking for a voice of intercession or appeal.

Lowell Grisham of The Chicago Consultation and Colin Coward of the UK-based advocacy group Changing Attitude are among the interviewees in this week's edition of "Sunday."

Grisham:

We believe that the leaders of the Anglican church should speak out, especially to those who are frightened and threatened by this legislation in Uganda. This is a matter of justice and of compassion. We see this as legislation that violates Christ's command that we love our neighbors as ourself and his example to show compassion to vulnerable and marginalized people.

(On Nov. 20th, the Consultation called for statements of condemnation from Rowan Williams, Katharine Jefferts Schori, President of the House of Deputies Dr. Bonnie Anderson, and Henry Luke Orombi [Primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda]. A specially called teleconference of members of Executive Council will tackle the issue Dec. 7th.)

That's where we stand stateside. In Britain,

... no such public opposition has emerged either, as 'Sunday' discovered when it approached senior bishops with close connections to the Ugandan church and asked, unsuccessfully, for comment. The most anyone would say was that quiet diplomacy was going on in the wings, and statements may emerge in due course.

Coward says he's had conversations with Lambeth, and although he's heard why Lambeth has issued no statement,

This is a terrible dereliction of duty by the Christian church.... I'm deeply disappointed. You cannot leave a void; you can't say nothing.

The portion of the show dealing with Uganda begins at 9:18 in and lasts for about seven minutes.

Comments (4)

Thank you so much, Fr. Grisham, for speaking out on this issue. He brought me into the Episcopal Church many years ago in Fort Smith, AR, and even there he was a fierce advocate for GLBT people, and wasn't always the most popular for his uncompromising stance for inclusivity. It warms my heart to see him still workin' hard for inclusion and justice, and be assured that the gospel is in excellent hands.

I still demand that our bishops say something NOW. NOW NOW NOW. You MUST, as successors to the Apostles. Bear witness RIGHT NOW. GLBT people are dying in Africa EVERY DAY because we're too afraid to tell the majority that they're WRONG.

Posted by Clint Davis | November 29, 2009 8:41 PM

Second of all, it is time for the Bishops of God's Church to speak truth to power and denounce anyone associated with The Family as heretics and perverters of the Gospel. This shadowy group spreads their Christianist filth all over the world and counts the highest levels of government in this country and many others as under their sway. Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air did a great interview with Jeff Sharlet, a relentless exposer of the Family, back on Nov. 24th.

The Family is squarely behind the legislation in Uganda, and that's just what they're able to get away with.

Posted by Clint Davis | November 29, 2009 9:45 PM

I have created a grassroots petition for Anglicans to speak out against this bill. You can go to:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No2UgandanAntiGayLaw

here is the text:

Leaders of the Anglican Communion in England, The United States and other provinces have failed to speak quickly and forcefully on proposed legislation in Uganda that includes imprisonment and execution of glbt folk. It also proposes jailing clergy and others who do not report glbt people to the authorities.

In the absence of our leaders speaking out in a timely fashion, it becomes incumbent upon the grassroots of Anglicanism to speak out and repudiate this bill. We join with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Primate of Canada and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Great Britain in urging all people of conscience to speak out against this bill.

Signing this petition reaffirms resolution D005 of the 2006 General Convention placing The Episcopal Church in opposition to such laws.

While we hope that in due course our leadership will speak, we must now speak out to support the glbt community in Uganda and in every country contemplating such legislation. They need to know that we are out here and we are not going to remain silent.

Posted by Michael Russell | November 29, 2009 11:52 PM

EMERGENCY NOTE: The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org

Posted by Leonardo Ricardo | November 30, 2009 1:26 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.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

CATEGORIES

Organizations