The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, has urged the Anglican Church of Uganda to denounce the criminalization of people belonging to the LGBTQ community. He expressed concern over the church’s endorsement of the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni. The Archbishop has expressed his “grief and dismay” regarding the Church of Uganda’s decision to support the new laws. The Archbishop further urges the leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) to explicitly and publicly affirm that the criminalization of LGBTQ individuals is not something any Anglican province can endorse.
Premier Christian News reports:
The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the Anglican Church of Uganda to “reject the criminalisation of LGBTQ people” following its support for an Anti-Homosexuality Act recently signed into Ugandan law by President Yoweri Museveni.
In a statement released today, Most Rev Justin Welby describes his “grief and dismay” at the Church of Uganda’s support for the new laws and says : “There is no justification for any province of the Anglican Communion to support such laws: not in our resolutions, not in our teachings, and not in the Gospel we share.”
The Archbishop also calls on the leadership of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) to make “explicitly and publicly clear that the criminalisation of LGBTQ people is something that no Anglican province can support,” adding: “That must be stated unequivocally.”
The statement explains that the Archbishop recently wrote privately to the Primate of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, to make clear that the Church of Uganda’s support for the Act is “a fundamental departure from our commitment to uphold the freedom and dignity of all people.”
Archbishop Welby reminded Archbishop Kaziimba that the Anglican Communion has long been united in its opposition to the criminalisation of LGBTQ people and its condemnation of homophobia.
Read the full article here.
Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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