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UGANDA PRIMATE SLAPS DOWN ARCHBISHOP WELBY OVER ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY ACT

UGANDA PRIMATE SLAPS DOWN ARCHBISHOP WELBY OVER ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY ACT
Has Welby encouraged the Anglican Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf to publicly advocate for decriminalizing homosexuality?

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
June 13, 2023

The pushback was swift, overwhelming; and a timely reminder that Archbishop Justin Welby no longer owns the Anglican Communion. He is getting it relentlessly with both barrels from Global South archbishops.

Welby expressed "grief and dismay" at Stephen Kaziimba, the Archbishop of Uganda's recent statement welcoming the Anti-homosexuality Act and its adoption by parliament. "There is no justification for Anglicans anywhere to support legislation that goes against the Christian teachings of the Gospel," Welby expostulated.

Following Welby's terse statement of condemnation to the Ugandan Archbishop, Kaziimba blasted back saying that the Anti-homosexuality Act does not criminalize homosexuality.

"Homosexuality was already criminalized; it simply reaffirms what was already in the colonial-era penal code, including a maximum sentence of the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality (which the Church of Uganda opposed).

"What is new is specifically outlawing the promotion of homosexuality and same-sex relationships as a moral alternative to God's natural design for marriage between one man and one woman."

Kaziimba then accused Welby of hypocrisy. "We wonder if Archbishop Justin Welby has written to encourage the Anglican Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf to publicly advocate for decriminalizing homosexuality in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East? Why are African countries like Ghana and Uganda singled out for such virtue signaling?" Why indeed.

Kaziimba said in May he was grateful for the new law. He said homosexuality was being forced on Uganda by "foreign actors ... who disguise themselves as human rights activists" and went against Ugandans' religious and cultural beliefs.

Them's fightin' words.

Welby said it's about reminding them of the commitments we have made as Anglicans to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God." But "care and respect" is not the issue. Resolution 1:10 took care of that. It is about brokering a behavior into the communion that is alien to the vast African Anglican Communion that knows little or nothing about homosexual practice, because their family structures work, and those of the West are falling apart!

Welby's support for the whole pansexual cause and his use of homophobia as a whip against anyone who disagrees with a behavior which the Bible specifically proscribes, reveals Welby is a wimp and spineless in the face of cultural pressure.

Welby's failure to acknowledge Scripture as truly authoritative in matters of faith and practice, means it is no wonder that African primates no longer recognize his role as primus inter pares. Welby is no longer the focus of unity. Calls for his resignation increase by the month.

Colonial habits die hard. Welby still thinks that in his limpid mind that one needs to go through Canterbury to get to Jesus, even though it is doubtful that most of his bishops wouldn't know Jesus if he became a Lord's spiritual bishop in the House of Parliament.

The Church of Uganda says 36% of Uganda's population of around 45 million are Anglicans. Of the 26 million recorded Anglicans in the Church of England, only some 750,000 practice their faith on a regular basis. Most Brits don't give a damn about the CofE or Jesus for that matter, so who's kidding whom about Anglican Communion ownership! The Anglican Church of Nigeria has 20 million adherents.

So, you can understand why Global South archbishops and bishops no longer have confidence in Welby because of his comments in support of the blessing of same-sex unions in his parishes.

The Anglican Communion, which numbers nearly 80 million in 165 countries is deeply divided over the ordination of homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage, and those provinces that do, oversee a small minority of Anglicans. The vast see of Anglicans do not subscribe to Welby's agenda or to homosexual practice.

The Church of England has chosen to impale itself on the cross of cultural relevance. Along with Justin Welby, the CofE is willing to sacrifice its authority and leadership for a sexual behavior that has no future either for the growth of the church or the moral health of a nation.

The recent gathering in Kigali of orthodox Anglican leaders made it abundantly clear that the future of Anglicanism lies in their hands, no longer in the ancient see of Canterbury.

END

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