Absent, but not gone

Henry Orombi in the company of the commandments. (Church Times)



The Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, has not resigned from the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion (SCAC) despite earlier reports that he had.

He merely said "I stand with my brother Primate, Bishop Mouneer Anis, in his courageous decision to resign from the Standing Committee," (Episcopal Life, which seems to have first announced that Orombi had resigned). In this sentence 'stand' should not be read as 'walk'.

What he has done is to send a 3 page letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, copied to 'Primates, Moderators, and Members of the Standing Committee of the ACC' available here (pdf).

In it he reminds Rowan (though, in fact, telling everyone except Rowan who already knows) that he hasn't been to a meeting of the SCAC since he was elected for 'principled reasons'.

(Incidentally this raises other questionr of representation of the Primates on SCAC - can they vote someone off mid-term on the grounds on non-attendance?)

His grounds are

1. He stands by the Primates' Communique after their meeting in Dar Es Salaam.
2. Members of TEC - including the Presiding Bishop who, just like Orombi, was elected by the Primates - are part of the SCAC and clearly will not vote for their own exclusion (I paraphrase, see below).
3. The leadership of the Anglican Communion Office have subverted powers which properly belong to the Primates. In particular it has been cut out of the 'Windsor process' (to which he objects in any case) and that process has been given to the SCAC.
4. The SCAC has appropriated powers to itself that neither the Primates nor the Lambeth Conference have approved.
5. The issue of homosexuality, and the standing of homosexuals in the church, is a matter of faith and order and these properly belong to bishops - and the Lambeth Conference devloved such issues to the Primates (1998, Resolution III.6)
6. And now the SCAC is to be given authority over Covenant discipline - all highly irregular.

His remedy is to restore power and authority to the Primates. Even their meetings, he says, have been subverted by the officers of the Anglican Communion Office as their secretariat.

He also wishes to exclude TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada from that Primates meeting.

Orombi describes TEC as 'gross violators of Biblical Truth' and states that TEC and the ACoC 'are proceeding with unbiblical practices that contradict the faith of Anglicanism.'

For Ormobi (and I think most of GAFCON) judgement day has passed: from his perspective TEC and the ACoC have already stepped outside the Christian pale, have done so of their own informed volition, and all that remains is frustration at the lack of institutional mechanisms to expel them formally. That was the view of Maurice Sinclair and Drexel Gomez in 2002.

===============

Well, I largely agree with Orombi's organizational analysis - though not about the Primates. The SCAC is a cuckoo in the nest. It has usurped authority already and has, inevitably, reduced the authority of all the other Instruments of Unity.

What Orombi's attitudes and (in)actions also show - as I have argued from the beginning of the Covenant process - is that creating a central executive body to govern the Communion will not resolve any dispute. It will provide new channels for campaigning, new people to be lobbied, and a new location of decision-making which those in contention across the Communion will all try to capture.

The Primates would not all share the sacraments in Das es Salaam. Why should anyone think that the members of different body would do so? Elections to membership of the SCAC - or any other such body - merely replicate pre-existing divisions and carry differences and antagonisms into a small room.

Surely, well I would have thought, surely the goal should have been to enlarge the space of Anglicanism, not to reduce it - to make more room for difference and cultural specificity and theological debate, not to try to cram volatile material into an even smaller container.

I don't know if Orombi's letter will make much difference. That (a) he should have to put this in writing, (b) he has to circulate it widely, (c) it should be made public, and (d) he describes not only the sidelining of his preferred option (Primatial power) but also his personal feelings of being sidelined - are all signs of weakness.

Under such circumstances there are normally just two options: to play a long game to get back into a position of power and influence or to pick up the ball and go find some other game.

Church backs Human Rights - unless you're gay

From the Sunday Pepper April 19, 2009

Andrew Brown writes in The Guardian:

A bill currently before the Ugandan parliament proposes seven year prison sentences for discussing homosexuality; life imprisonment for homosexual acts; and death for a second offence. Sober observers believe it will be passed. The Anglican church in Uganda appears to support it, and the Church of England in this country is absolutely silent. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester solemnly denounce violence in the Congo, where they have no influence at all, but on Uganda they maintain a resolute post-colonial silence.

He includes a link to a pdf version of the Bill.

The silence of the archbishops and the complicity of the American Right in the promotion of this Bill we know.

What I tripped over the other day was an extract in Evans and Wright (ed.) The Anglican Tradition.

In 1972, before Uganda became a separate Province in its own right, The Church of the Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire, Provincial Constitution, said:

Article 3: On the dignity and rights of man

In conformity with the established xn doctrine, the Church of the Province shall proclaim and hold that all men have equal value, rights and dignity in the sight of God, and, while mindful to provide for the special needs of different people committed to its charge, shall not allow discrimination in the membership and government of the Church solely on the grounds of colour, race and tribe.

Would any reader know whether this clause survived the division of Provinces? (A very similar clause was in the Kenyan Church's constitution in 1979.)

And why, if 'all men have equal value, rights and dignity in the sight of God', doesn't this mean all men instead of only heterosexuals?

Perhaps a clue has been that the Church has consistently supported human rights with respect to religious freedom and to matters that do not impinge on its jurisdiction but are leery of rights which purport to constrain the 'right' of a Church to discriminate for religious reasons. How churches square the first and last of these is beyond me.

In 1948 the Lambeth Conference had some general - and probably widespread -qualifications for its support of the Human Rights then being debated in the United Nations:

Resolution 6

The Church and the Modern World - Human Rights

The Conference declares that all men, irrespective of race or colour, are equally the objects of God's love and are called to love and serve him. All men are made in his image; for all Christ died; and to all there is made the offer of eternal life. Every individual is therefore bound by duties towards God and towards other men, and has certain rights without the enjoyment of which he cannot freely perform those duties. These rights should be declared by the Church, recognised by the state, and safeguarded by international law.

Resolution 7

The Church and the Modern World - Human Rights

The Conference declares that among such rights are security of life and person; the right to work, to bring up a family, and to possess personal property; the right to freedom of speech, of discussion and association, and to accurate information; and to full freedom of religious life and practice; and that these rights belong to all men irrespective of race or colour.

Resolution 8

The Church and the Modern World - Human Rights

The Conference endorses the proposed Convenant on Human Rights, now before the United Nations, and declares it necessary for full religious freedom that:every person shall have the right to freedom of religion, conscience, and belief, including the right, either alone or in community with other persons of like mind, to hold and manifest any religious or other belief, to change his belief and to practice any form of religious worship and observance, and he shall not be required to do any act that is contrary to such worship and observance; and that every person of full age and sound mind shall be free, either alone or in community with other persons of like mind, to give and receive any form of religious teaching, and in the case of a minor the parent or guardian shall be free to determine what religious teaching he shall receive.

The Conference believes that the above rights should be subject only to such limitations as are internationally recognised as necessary to protect public order, morals, and the rights and freedoms of others. Any such limitations should be clearly defined by law, and there should be appeal concerning them before impartial courts of justice.

'Morals' as a limitation on rights begs a whole number of questions, but even here it only applied to 'internationally recognised' moral constraints.

In 1978, and again in a similar resolution in 1988, the Lambeth Conference resolved:

Resolution 3

Human Rights

The Conference regards the matter of human rights and dignity as of capital and universal importance. We send forth the following message as expressing our convictions in Christ for the human family world-wide.

We deplore and condemn the evils of racism and tribalism, economic exploitation and social injustices, torture, detention without trial and the taking of human lives, as contrary to the teaching and example of our Lord in the Gospel. Man is made in the image of God and must not be exploited.

In many parts of the world these evils are so rampant that they deter the development of a humane society. Therefore,

1. we call on governments to uphold human dignity; to defend human rights, including the exercise of freedom of speech, movement, and worship in accordance with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights; the right to be housed, freedom to work, the right to eat, the right to be educated; and to give human value and worth precedence over social and ethnic demarcations, regardless of sex, creed, or status;

2. we thank God for those faithful Christians who individually and collectively witness to their faith and convictions in the face of persecution, torture and martyrdom; and for those who work for and advocate human rights and peace among all peoples; and we assure them of our prayers, as in penitence and hope we long to see the whole Church manifesting in its common life a genuine alternative to the acquisitiveness and division which surround it, and indeed penetrate it;

3. we pledge our support for those organisations and agencies which have taken positive stands on human rights, and those which assist with refugee problems;

4. we urge all Anglicans to seek positive ways of educating themselves about the liberation struggle of peoples in many parts of the world;

5. finally we appeal to all Christians to lend their support to those who struggle for human freedom and who press forward in some places at great personal and corporate risk; we should not abandon them even if the struggle becomes violent. We are reminded that the ministry of the Church is to reveal the love of God by faithful proclamation of his Word, by sacrificial service, and by fervent prayers for his rule on earth.

And in 1998:

Resolution I.1

Affirmation and Adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On the fiftieth anniversary of its proclamation in December of 1948, this Conference

(a) resolves that its members urge compliance with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the nations in which our various member Churches are located, and all others over whom we may exercise any influence; and

(b) urges extension of the provisions of the Declaration to refugees, uprooted and displaced persons who may be forced by the circumstances of their lives to live among them.

Only, not when it comes to sexuality.

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Globalizing the Culture Wars

Now we have a better picture of what we have previously seen in glimpses: the systematic use of African Christians to serve the agenda of the American Right.

In my opinion the choice of homosexuality was tactically superb for the strategists of the religious culture war.

It brought together almost all evangelicals who had been deeply divided on the issue of the ordination of women. It brought them together with the socially conservative churches in Africa, the Caribbean, the middle east and the far east on an issue which was of concern but peripheral to the many much more pressing concerns they faced.

Homosexuality gave conservative Christians an enemy which couldn’t fight back. A shibboleth to divide friend from foe. A clear focus to bring all the divided conservative groups into a single battle formation. Even those bishops who did not want to be part of the war shied away from standing up for the rights of gay people in the church. And the (largely unspoken) emotional punch of homophobia helped sustain the battle over many years.

It was also utterly immoral.

It was immoral to use people as though they were tools, to use those who are often marginal to the church to enhance the power of the few, to not care (at the very best) about the individuals who would be hurt and whose faith would be damaged as a secondary but inevitable consequence.

Now Kapya Kaoma, An Anglican Priest from Zambia, has systematically studied the presence of the American religious right in Nigeria, Kenyan and Uganda and their use of those churches to bolster their own, American, agenda.

__________________________________________________________

Press Release follows:

Groundbreaking PRA Investigation Exposes Influence of U.S. Religious Conservatives in Promoting Homophobia in Africa

Webpage ~ Full report (.pdf) ~ Executive summary (.pdf)

U.S. Christian Right also mobilizes African clerics in U.S. “culture war” over ordination of LGBT clergy

Sexual minorities in Africa have become collateral damage to our domestic conflicts and culture wars as U.S. conservative evangelicals and those opposing gay pastors and bishops within mainline Protestant denominations woo Africans in their American fight, a groundbreaking investigation by Political Research Associates (PRA) has discovered.

Globalizing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives, African Churches, and Homophobia, a new report by the Reverend Kapya Kaoma, PRA Project Director, exposes the U.S. Right’s promotion of an agenda in Africa that aims to criminalize homosexuality and otherwise infringe upon the human rights of LGBT people while also mobilizing African clerics in U.S. culture war battles. U.S. social conservatives, who are in the minority in mainline churches, depend on African religious leaders to legitimize their positions as their growing numbers makes African Christians more influential globally. These partnerships have succeeded in slowing the mainline Protestant churches’ recognition of the full equality of LGBT people. It’s working despite the real movement toward full equality within denominations, because of the sensitivity of liberals to the question of colonialism. Are we being insensitive to the realities of Africa? But, Kaoma argues, although U.S. conservatives have organized African religious leaders as a visible force opposing LGBT equality, it is not true that all of Africa takes this stand.

In the United States, Kaoma focuses on “renewal” groups in The Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church USA, and Presbyterian Church USA; U.S conservative evangelicals; and the Institute on Religion and Democracy, a neoconservative think tank that has sought to undermine Protestant denominations’ tradition of progressive social justice work for decades.

In Africa, Kaoma investigates ties U.S. conservatives have established with religious leaders in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya and the impact of homophobia exported from the United States to these Anglophone countries.

As Kaoma argues, the U.S. Right – once isolated in Africa for supporting pro-apartheid, White supremacist regimes – has successfully reinvented itself as the mainstream of U.S. evangelicalism. Through their extensive communications networks in Africa, social welfare projects, Bible schools, and educational materials, U.S. religious conservatives warn of the dangers of homosexuals and present themselves as the true representatives of U.S. evangelicalism, so helping to marginalize Africans’ relationships with mainline Protestant churches.

The investigation’s release could not be timelier, as the Ugandan parliament considers the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009. Language in that bill echoes the false and malicious charges made in Uganda by U.S antigay activist and Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively that western gays are conspiring to take over Uganda and even the world.

"We need to stand up against the U.S. Christian Right peddling homophobia in Africa," said Kaoma, who in recent weeks asked U.S. evangelist Rick Warren to denounce the bill and distance himself from its supporters. "I heard church people in Uganda say they would go door to door to root out LGBT people and now our brothers and sisters are being further targeted by proposed legislation criminalizing them and threatening them with death. The scapegoating must stop."

While the American side of the story is known to LGBT activists and their allies witnessing struggles over LGBT clergy within Protestant denominations in the United States, what’s been missing has been the effect of the Right’s proxy wars on Africa itself. Kaoma’s report finally brings this larger, truly global picture into focus.

“Just as the United States and other northern societies routinely dump our outlawed or expired chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and cultural detritus on African and other Third World countries, we now export a political discourse and public policies our own society has discarded as outdated and dangerous,” writes PRA executive director Tarso Luís Ramos in the report’s foreword. “Africa’s antigay campaigns are to a substantial degree made in the U.S.A.”

Leaders within mainline Protestant denominations hailed the report.

"The exploitation of African Christians by right-wing organizations in the United States is reprehensible. Where were these individuals and organizations and their leaders during the struggles against colonialism and apartheid? They certainly were not standing in solidarity with the people of Africa. Today, they use a variety of corrupt practices and methods in a vain attempt to turn back the tide of history. This report reveals the truth about what is going on and should be required reading for American church leaders," said Jim Winkler, the general secretary of the international public policy and social justice agency of The United Methodist Church.

For his 16-month investigation, Kaoma, an Anglican priest from Zambia, traveled in the United States and Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria, attended the notorious antigay conference of Uganda’s Family Life Network in March, and documented concerns among the region’s clergy that U.S. conservatives are contributing to corruption among bishops with their lax requirements for donated funds.

Although written primarily for a U.S. audience, Globalizing the Culture Wars is certain to cause a stir in English-speaking Africa, where conservative U.S. evangelicals have for too long escaped the close scrutiny of African social justice activists and movements.

Kapya John Kaoma
Project Director Kapya John Kaoma is an Anglican priest from Zambia now leading churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. A doctoral candidate at Boston University School of Theology, he has studied in evangelical schools in Zambia and the United Kingdom. From 1998 to 2001, he served as dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Mutare, Zimbabwe and lecturer at Africa University, where he coauthored a text in ethics, Unity in Diversity. From 2001 to 2002, he was academic dean of St. John’s Anglican Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia, where he launched its women’s studies and church school training programs. An active campaigner for women’s reproductive rights, Kaoma is a passionate activist for social witness in the world.

Political Research Associates
Political Research Associates (PRA) is a progressive think tank devoted to supporting movements that are building a more just and inclusive democratic society. We expose movements, institutions, and ideologies that undermine human rights, with a focus on the U.S. political Right. Political Research Associates seeks to advance progressive thinking and action by providing accurate, research-based, information, analysis, and referrals.

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Neo-colonial homophobia?

UGANDA: Helping Hand For Homophobia From U.S. Christians
By Christi van der Westhuizen
CAPE TOWN, Nov 11 (IPS) -

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in Uganda was sparked by a conference in Kampala earlier this year at which fundamentalist Christians from the U.S. identified homosexuality as a threat to "family values".

The draconian law will institute the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and criminalise human rights work.

Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop from Uganda, and Reverend Jide Macauley, from Nigeria's House of Rainbow church, told IPS that a conference took place on March 5-7 this year, arranged by Stephen Langa, the director of a Ugandan fundamentalist Christian grouping called Family Life Network (FLN).

The FLN invited speakers attached to U.S.-based religious and "educational" organisations that propagate the idea that homosexuality is an "illness" that can be "cured".

....

Senyonjo's position is that even if the Bible is interpreted as against homosexuality - which he adds is not necessarily the correct interpretation - the church should provide pastoral care rather than punishment. He was excluded from further participation at the conference when his position became known. It is suspected that Lively, whose "Defend the Family" website promotes several homophobic books, also met with a number of Ugandan parliamentarians.

....

Senyonjo and Macauley were in South Africa to attend the first African dialogue on Nov 2-5 between clergy and activists working for LGBTI rights. It was co-hosted by the South Africa-based Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM), a Christian organisation which promotes the full participation of LGBTI people in religious communities, and Namibia’s Rainbow Project, a non-governmental organisation working to safeguard sexual diversity.

More here

Speak out against Uganda’s proposed “Anti-Homosexuality” Bill

Image from Gays without Borders

Lesbian and Gay Christians speak out against Uganda’s proposed “Anti-Homosexuality” Bill

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement joins with people around the world in condemning a proposed Bill before the Ugandan parliament which could lead, in some cases, to the death penalty for homosexual acts.

A Private Member’s Bill being proposed in Uganda is among the world’s most draconian legislation against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. The Bill which aims to “deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family” has widespread support from a number of Ugandan MPs, and it, would seem, considerable government support.

The planned Bill would legislate against responsible education and information about homosexuality, and support for homosexuals. Punishments could range from 3 years imprisonment to the death sentence. A catch all clause in the Bill even covers any Ugandan homosexuals who might break the law while abroad. Clause 17 of the Bill also makes anyone charged under the Act liable to extradition.

The Bill would also hold responsible for illegal activities those who are in positions of trust, from Church leaders to organisations aimed at helping people living with HIV/AIDS. The Bill says that all people in positions of trust are obligated to aid in enforcing the law. This means anyone with “power and control over other people because of your knowledge and official position”, and includes anyone who ”exercises religious, political, economic or social authority“.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda and can be punished with life imprisonment. But the anti-homosexuality legislation, proposed by ruling party MP David Bahati on October 14th 2009, was designed to "fill the gaps" in the provisions of existing laws.

A coalition of human rights and civil society groups led by Human Rights Watch have blasted the measure for attacking human rights protections and placing "everybody" at risk – including parents, teachers, landlords, doctors, media and religious leaders and those who provide counselling to anyone struggling with their sexuality or work with those infected with HIV/AIDS. Anyone who does not report an offence within 24 hours of their gaining knowledge of such is liable to prosecution.

Rev. Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of LGCM, said: “I am horrified at the possibility that this law might be passed. It is entirely unjust, cruel and can only strike terror in the hearts of LGBT people, their families, friends and supporters. I am particularly distressed that many Christian groups including Churches in the Anglican Communion in Uganda appear to be supporting the proposals.

“The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement appeal to all people of faith regardless of their views on homosexuality to roundly condemn this Bill. The discussion we need to have right now is not about the morality of homosexuality but the morality of this law. We are grateful that Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, the largest evangelical church in the US, has spoken out clearly against this Bill but too many other Christian leaders are woefully silent. Christians of all backgrounds must unite in taking action against this Bill."

SMUG

I was looking at an article about the export of homophobia to Africa by the religious right (here) which cited SMUG: Sexual Minorities Uganda. Their new website is here, though it's too new to say much yet.

But it does say a lot about the new global world. Just as the religious right can proselytise for their views so others can proclaim their opposition: the technologies that bind us together are also the technologies which enable us to declare and promote our differences.

"There is a lot of misunderstanding about human sexuality," said Ugandan Bishop Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was expelled from the Anglican Church for supporting gay people. “This workshop is going to bring more conflict, greater hostility, increased intimidation. We need love ... in the long run, love will overcome."

The U.S. religious right has a history of exporting homophobia to Africa. With support from anti-gay organizations and faith leaders such as Family Watch International and Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Pastor Martin Ssempa from Makerere Community Church has attacked not only gay men and lesbians, but also women's rights and HIV activism. Pastor Ssempa has stated, "there should be no rights granted to homosexuals in this country." In 2007, he organized a multi-denominational rally against LGBT rights in Kampala, where one cleric called for the "starving to death of homosexuals."

Bishop Ssenyonjo has long been a supporter of LGBT rights. He retired as Bishop of West Buganda in 1998 and fell out in a big way with Archbishop Orombi when he 'came out' in 2001.

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Women bishops in Uganda?

From The New Vision (Uganda)

Female clergy in the country have demanded that the Church of Uganda starts
ordaining women bishops. Under their association, the Church of Uganda Clergy
Women Fellowship (CUCWF), they decried the low number of female clerics in the
country.

"In Karamoja, there is only one female clergy. We need more female
parish priests. It is high time we also had women bishops," said Rev. Prudence
Kaddu, the acting chairperson of CUWCF.

...
“The Church of Uganda started training female clergy in 1964, but since
then, we have never had any female bishop, why?” Kaddu wondered.

“It is good for the leaders to see the talents we have and understand our spiritual gifts to the ministry. Women are effective. In fact, if anything, we are even better.”
She said there was nothing in the Church ministry that men could do that
women could not.

Even on the darkest day there is hope.

Ugandan Archbishop excommunicates Canterbury

The Cathedral of the diocese of Bukedi, eastern Uganda, St Peter's at Tororo.

From Uganda's New Vision


The Archbishop of Bukedi Diocese the Rt. Reverend Nicodemus Okile says that he no longer recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, as head of the church because of his stance on homosexuality.

Okile said this while laying a foundation stone at All Saints church Busitema.

He blamed the western culture for promoting homosexuality.

Judging and not judging, again

Ankole, long horn, cattle in Uganda

On the other hand I will leave you to judge this report yourselves (see below).



From New Vision (Kampala) (here)


by Cyprian Musoke


THE head of the National Fellowship of Born-Again Churches in Uganda has said randy pastors who indulge in sex with their flock have been one of his major challenges.


Pastor Alex Mitala said he has had a lot of trouble sorting out the cases of "pastors in town who go around sleeping with girls everywhere."

He told journalists that there were several such cases with him and before he solves them, he gets other complaints.

He, however, exonerated pastor Jackson Ssenyonga over allegations of molesting a girl on a plane in the USA, saying he was not randy like others.

"I have known Jackson since he was a boy and his wife Eve since she was a girl. I have never heard of any immoral character in them," Mitala said on Monday.

Ssenyonga, the head of Christian Life Church Bwaise, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl on a flight as he moved to preach.


Well, that's alright then if Pastor Alex Mitala says he's OK.