Distressing reports from Uganda

All my enemies whisper together about me *
and devise evil against me.
Psalm 41:7 (BCP)

Andy Towle reports:

An article appearing in The Guardian over the weekend reports that the death penalty and life imprisonment provisions in Uganda's "kill the gays" bill as it has come to be known, have not been dropped, as Bloomberg reported last week.

The President and Senators Grassley, Coburn, and Feingold have spoken against this bill. Even the Vatican chimes in, not mentioning Uganda but the timing is suggestive:

"As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person. As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth."

Genocide is genocide and the ignorance, deceit, and cruelty behind this proposed legislation is staggering.

Must the road to Uganda be purchased once more with blood?

The martyrdom of Bishop James Hannington

--the BB

Moral authority squandered

I have written extensively about genocide in the past years because for me it is personal. I grew up among survivors of the Armenian genocide during WWI. I lived among survivors of the Holocaust. I pastored Cambodians who survived Pol Pot. I cannot be silent about the threat of a new law in Uganda that would execute LGBT people and cast in prison those who do not denounce them. Rowan Williams thinks it is his duty to remain silent about this, at least in public. It is strange how quickly he jumps in to threaten some folks and remains silent about others.

Public silence on impending genocidal legislation in Uganda where human lives are at stake and not only silence but pressure for others to remain silent. Immediate public response to the election of a bishop suffragan in Los Angeles. +Rowan Cantuar has interesting priorities and they seem to be institutional.

I like Lois Keen's comment:

"...if our bonds of affection are to hold."

I must speak out. I can stand it no longer. Affection is not affection at all if it is conditional on anything. Affection has no prerequisites. It is not qualified.

Most of all, affection carries no thinly veiled threats of breaking affection.

Rowan has no affection for TEC, except we throw our LGBT brothers and sisters under the bus. Others in the Anglican Communion, for whom we still have affection, have no affection for us except we declare our LGBT brothers and sisters intransigent, disordered, unhealthy sinners. Subsequently, there is no bond of affection in the Anglican Communion.

But worst of all, to base communion on "bonds of affection" is a fallacy, if not a category mistake.

Communion is in and through Christ Jesus, and him alone. In him and through him our paltry, meager affections toward one another are unnecessary. We can never feel our way to loving one another. We can only do our way to loving one another, and that's hard work, because it holds up to judgment our refusals to work with another because in our judgment the other has "broken the bonds of affection".

Thank you, Lois. No human bond is sufficient; the Spirit's bond transcends our brokenness and, yes, our hatred (as you wrote elsewhere).

Jim Naughton added:

Lambeth Palace says it would be counterproducrive to speak out against a law that legalizes the murder of gays people and the imprisonment of their confidants, but thinks that inserting itself into the middle of the consent process of a duly elected Episcopal bishop is a good use of the Archbishop's moral authority. Do the clergy and people of the Church of England feel comfortable with this?

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in every land who live with injustice, terror, disease and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--the BB

Dear Bishops

When and if the whole English tea party thing stops making you all giddy with being there, may I remind you of something?



--the BB