The Anglican Church is divided. And Church of Uganda’s stance against homosexuality is the latest centre of the war of words between the Ugandan Primate Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, whom Kaziimba has said is no longer recognized as the first among equals or even Head of the Anglican Church in the world but one who has led the Church of All England astray and one who needs to repent of his sins.
Archbishop Welby has criticized Kaziimba for the Church of Uganda’s support of the recently assented to Anti-Homosexuality Act. He said he was in dismay, in sorrow and in grief over the church’s support of the new law, and that he was praying that there will be reunion for the divided Anglican Communion.
Referred to by some as the head of the Anglican Church, Welby reminded Kaziimba that the church has for long refused to support criminalization of homosexuality and homophobia since they go against the love of Christ.
Here are Welby’s words:
ARCHBISHOP JUSTIN WELBY REBUKES KAZIIMBA
I have recently written to my brother in Christ, the Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, to express my grief and dismay at the Church of Uganda’s support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act. I make this public statement with sorrow, and with continuing prayers for reconciliation between our churches and across the Anglican Communion. I am deeply aware of the history of colonial rule in Uganda, so heroically resisted by its people. But this is not about imposing Western values on our Ugandan Anglican sisters and brothers. It is 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.
“Within the Anglican Communion we continue to disagree over matters of sexuality, but in our commitment to God-given human dignity we must be united. I have reminded Archbishop Kaziimba that Anglicans around the world have long been united in our opposition to the criminalisation of homosexuality and LGBTQ people. Supporting such legislation is a fundamental departure from our commitment to uphold the freedom and dignity of all people. 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 Church of Uganda, like many Anglican provinces, holds to the traditional Christian teaching on sexuality and marriage set out in Resolution i.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. That resolution also expressed a commitment to minister pastorally and sensitively to all – regardless of sexual orientation – and to condemn homophobia. I have said to Archbishop Kaziimba that I am unable to see how the Church of Uganda’s support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act is consistent with its many statements in support of Resolution i.10.
“More recently, at the 2016 Primates Meeting in Canterbury, the Primates of the Anglican Communion “condemned homophobic prejudice and violence and resolved to work together to offer pastoral care and loving service irrespective of sexual orientation.” We affirmed that this conviction arises out of our discipleship of Jesus Christ. We also “reaffirmed our rejection of criminal sanctions against same-sex attracted people” – and stated that “God’s love for every human being is the same, regardless of their sexuality, and that the church should never by its actions give any other impression.”
“These statements and commitments are the common mind of the Anglican Communion on the essential dignity and value of every person. I therefore urge Archbishop Kaziimba and the Church of Uganda – a country and church I love dearly, and to which I owe so much – to reconsider their support for this legislation and reject the criminalisation of LGBTQ people. I also call on my brothers in Christ, the leadership of GAFCON 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: that must be stated unequivocally.
“As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to honour the image of God in every person, and I pray for Anglicans to be uncompromising and united in this calling.”
ARCHBISHOP KAZIIMBA FIRES BACK
In response, Archbishop Kaziimba told Welby that he had freedom of speech and expression, including on matters he is ignorant about.
He said that he would not repeat himself on an issue he has already pronounced himself on.
Kaziimba went on to remind Welby that anti-gay legislation has been in the country’s law books since colonial rule, first imposed by British colonialists whose province he now superintends over.
He also dared Welby to carry the same message to the church of Cyprus and others in the Gulf, and stop ordering around African Church provinces as if they are little children that do not know what they are doing or what is good for them.
The following are Archbishop Kaziimba’s words:
Archbishop Justin Welby, Primate of All England, has every right to form his opinions about matters around the world that he knows little about firsthand, which he has done in his recent statement about Church of Uganda’s widely held support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.
Our support has been made very clear by our earlier statement, so it does not require repeating. He and many other Western leaders seem to think that the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 criminalizes homosexuality. It does not.
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).
Even if the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 was not signed into law, homosexuality would remain criminalized in Uganda, as it is in more than one-third of the world’s countries. Even if it is overturned by the Supreme Court, homosexuality will remain criminalized in Uganda.
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.
We wonder if Abp 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?
Sadly, as we stated – together with leaders of 85% of the Anglican Communion – in the Kigali Commitment of Gafcon IV in April 2023, we “can no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion, the ‘first among equals’ of the Primates.
The Church of England has chosen to impair her relationship with the orthodox provinces in the Communion.” We do pray for him and other leaders in the Church of England to repent.
In a nutshell, what Archbishop Kaziimba is telling Justin Welby is that the Church of Uganda has broken away from Canterbury and that the Church of All England has backslidden, gone astray and need prayers and repentance. (See Details in Kaziimba’s first letter to Welby and his Church of England HERE).
One prominent Ugandan with views similar to Welby’s is Dr Kizza Besigye who has said that Ugandans should not judge homosexuals even when he believes that homosexuality is a sin. (See Details Here).
Meanwhile, President Museveni has revealed what he will do if Biden’s US Government and other partners stop giving Uganda aid for AIDS patient’s ARVs over the Anti-Homosexuality Act. (Read Story Here).
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