Saturday, March 13, 2010

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU'S ADDRESS CONCERNING THE ATTEMPTED GENOCIDE OF GAY PEOPLE IN MANY PARTS OF AFRICA

Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote an excellent op ed piece in the Washington Post entitled, In Africa, a step backward on human rights, part of which reads as follows:

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.

I urge you to read his whole article.

The profound tragedy of the attempted genocide of Gay people in many parts of Africa, is magnified by the silence of many self-styled professing Christians and clergy throughout the world.
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2 comments:

genevieve said...

Archbishop Tutu is one of the very few high profile spiritual leaders who does stand up for LGBT people.

Jerry Maneker said...

Hi genevieve: The fact that he is unique in this regard is a tremendous indictment of most of the institutional Church. Best wishes, Jerry.