Rowan Williams condemned the murder of David Kato in Kampala. He went on to urge the British government to provide asylum for other homosexuals who might be in danger in Uganda.
All very proper, of course; except I don’t remember him pressuring the UK government to accept Iranian homosexual refugees – who, after all, are in considerably more danger than those in Uganda.
Rowan seems to enjoy impossible balancing acts: not satisfied with trying to indaba together the two incompatible religions represented by liberal and conservative Anglicanism, he is now trying to denounce anti-homosexual factions in other nations without implicating the most enthusiastically systematic abusers of homosexuals now extant – Muslims.
From here:
The archbishop of Canterbury has urged the government to offer protection to gay and lesbian people seeking asylum in the UK after the “profoundly shocking” killing of a Ugandan gay rights activist this week.
Williams said: “Whatever the precise circumstances of his death, which have yet to be determined, we know that David Kato Kisule lived under the threat of violence and death.
“No one should have to live in such fear because of the bigotry of others. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities.”
Meanwhile, the Archbishop is “powerless to help” Christians who are being routinely murdered, tortured and raped in Islamic nations, but trusts they will be encouraged because they “have not been forgotten” – at least, not completely.
From here:
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will say Christians who are suffering because of their beliefs would be helped through the knowledge they have not been forgotten.
“We may feel powerless to help; yet we should also know that people in such circumstances are strengthened simply by knowing they have not been forgotten,” Williams will say, according to extracts of the address released in advance.
“And if we find we have time to spare for joining in letter-writing campaigns for all prisoners of conscience, [rights groups] Amnesty International and Christian Solidarity worldwide will have plenty of opportunities for us to make use of.”
Delivering the sermon at the cathedral in Canterbury, he will cite a number of countries where Christians are suffering, including Iraq and Zimbabwe………..
Williams, the spiritual leader of more than 70 million Anglicans worldwide, mentions the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five in Pakistan sentenced to death for defaming the Prophet Mohammed.
“Our prayers continue for [Asia Bibi] in Pakistan and others from minority groups who suffer from the abuse of the law by certain groups there.”
