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 Henry Orombi was recently in the UK attending the New Wine conference. This is the same New Wine that was all set to endorse Todd Bentley's "Lakeland Outpouring" just prior to his adulterous flameout.(You remember Todd Bentley? The burly fellow with all the tattoos? Todd Bentley of the YouTube "bam-swat-whack-no more stomach cancer in the nayyyyyme of Jeee-zussss" videos, that Todd Bentley?)

Members of the Episcopal Church (USA) should take note of this paper. What -- really -- would it take for us to remain in communion with the Church of England -- as it really is, as it is today? And do we have strong enough stomachs to do it? I'm not sure I'm ready to remodel the Episcopal Church so that it's centered on the likes of Todd Bentley, though I am relieved that I could probably oppose the death penalty for homosexuals and still remain in communion with the C of E.

". . 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 agreement with the Stated policy of the Human Rights Commission of the UN; that the LGBT community should not be subjected to discrimination by member governments.

If Uganda, as Mr Buturo says, "has no intention of heeding the advice of foereigners on the issue of homosexuality", it should then resign from its United Nations portfolio, and not expect foreign aid to be directed towards its needs.

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 yet making their voices heard - and it would take a great deal of courage to do so in that context. I am still waiting to see any real rational discussion about the whole issue in the Ugandan press. Most of the stuff you link to here in Uganda is rhetorical populist rubbish.

Sylvia Tamale puts her finger on the nub of this when she points to the way LGBT people are being scapegoated so that the corruption and veniality of Ugandan politicians is no longer in the spotlight, and the real moral issues facing the country, like torture and rape, domestic violence, corruption, security, the rule of law and so forth - which to impact would require a greater concerted effort than any grubby politician is prepared to make - are forgotten.

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. Violence will range from the local queer bashing recently in the new in UK and USA, to the large scale antigay state police terror being trumpeted in Uganda and elsewhere as a Final Christian Solution?

What else does the rightwing Anglican weaponizing portend, other than violence towards the named target folks, the queer folks?

Alas.

Even Canterbury who is alleged to have one of the biggest brains in Anglican Life has not been immune. Rowan Williams publicly sustains that odd failure of intellect and sheer religious courage when it comes to any effective notion of human rights for queer folks. Just re-read Canterbury's earlier - sick-hearted to the point of feebleness - gloss in that essay where he ponders out loud whether or not a higher calling from God revealed to straight folks as our only available paradigmatic humankind, does not rise completely above and trump and erase any and all global human rights notions.

A thinking Anglican could hardly begin to frame the culturally accommodated antigay false consciousness of that heart-numbing framework, let alone publish it so patently in the wide open.

Our Anglican bondage is palpable, thought, spirit.

This is indeed the sort of Anglican Communion hemming and hawing that depends on violence while mildly disavowing it. That any people who follow Jesus of Nazareth should be tongue-tied when faced with violnce - is one of the clearest demonstrations that the much vaunted Lambeth 1.10 of 1998 cannot hold as our final Anglican discernment. So far, nobody much means the human rights pretenses of 1998's Lambeth 1.10.

If these offenses must come; Woe to those who aid and abet that coming. Woe to those Anglicans who make those offenses a gold standard for public and church life. The tree is violence, and it will bear no fruit for citizens or for believers.

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.