Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Merrily, We Go Along...Death in Uganda

And so, as the debate heats up over whether the Archbishop of Canterbury is or is not actually supporting the nomination of Dr. Jeffrey John to be among those considered for Bishop of Southwark... another disturbing story emerges out of the troubled African nation of Uganda.

A gay man, who went missing on June 3rd aka Ugandan Martyrs Day, has turned up dead. Pasikali Kashusbe, a farm worker and youth leader for Integrity Uganda, was beheaded and his genitals were also cut off. His head was discovered in latrine on the farm where he worked. The torso was found elsewhere a few days earlier. In addition to the horror of this crime, the discovery of Kashusbe's mutilated remains came as there is an on-going search for a pro-gay Anglican priest named Henry Kayizzi Nsubuga who has been missing for two-and-a-half weeks. Rev. Nsubuga bravely delivered a speech in support of homosexuality at St. Paul's Church in Kanyanya. He is nowhere to be found. All of these events highlight the true dangers that exist for LGBT people, their friends, their lovers and their allies. And it again shines a bright light on the need for those in positions of leadership, especially in the Anglican Communion, to speak out and demand an end to the holocaust in that nation. It is a cruel irony that Kashusbe went missing on Ugandan Martyrs Day, a day in that country that commemorates the tipping point that led to the rise of the Anglican Church when several Catholic and Anglican missionaries including bishops were executed for refusing to reject Christianity for the customs of Bugandan King Mwanga II (there are claims he made homosexual advances on the Christian martyrs).

Perhaps a new tipping point is in order. And I continue asking, "What is it going to take to get the Anglican leaders to see that their continued marginalization of the LGBT community contributes to this madness??"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is horrendous. I didn't think people like this lived any more.

Peggins