I Said, and then They Said...

The following is the exchange that I had with Lambeth Palace over the proposed Anti-Homosexuality bill in Uganda.


Archbishop Rowan Williams,

I do not doubt that you are a man of God. However, your decision to publicly condemn the election of Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool for a Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles while not swiftly condemning the Anglican Church leaders in Uganda for supporting the Anti-Homosexuality legislation raises questions for me.
God is calling LGBT people to come to the table for fellowship and communion; not for imprisonment and death.
Please, if you really want to save this Anglican Communion, consider the damage of your spoken and UNspoken words.
Peace be with you,
Susan

To this, the Press Secretary to the Archbishop sent me the following:

Dear Susan,

Thank you for your message and for taking the trouble to write about this deeply painful issue.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is very clear that the Private Member’s Bill being discussed in Uganda as drafted is entirely unacceptable from a pastoral, moral and legal point of view. It is a cause of deep concern, fear and, to many, outrage. The Archbishop has publicly stated that “the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I can’t see how it can be supported by any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent decades”.

For its part the Church of Uganda has clearly restated its opposition to the death penalty. As the Ugandan Church continues to formulate its position on the bill as a whole, the Archbishop has been working intensively behind the scenes (over the past weeks) to ensure that there is clarity on how the proposed bill is contrary to Anglican teaching.

Marie Papworth

Three important notes: one is that I wrote of my concerns about the ABC's conduct before his interview last week with the Telegraph in which he made the public statement. As far as I know, that's the only statement he's made on the topic.

Point two: While it is true that the Ugandan Church has publicly stated that it is "considering" the legislation, there have been reports of Ugandan clerics... including Anglicans... publicly stating that they are in favor of "the private member's bill". They may not be speaking on behalf of the Anglican church; however they are members of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda. Why are they not being "called out" for subverting the so-called "Listening Process"?

Final point: While Ms. Papworth was kind enough to address the issue of what had, at the time of my initial email, been the UNspoken words from the Archbishop, she refused to acknowledge that ++Rowan had said things in re: the election of Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool which were out-of-line. I think I was clear enough that my concern was for what was SPOKEN as well as UNSPOKEN. Obviously, Ms. Papworth felt no need to comment further on THAT argument.

I have remarked elsewhere that it would be one thing to be angry with the Archbishop for not taking a stronger stand earlier about this horrid legislation in Uganda. But what was the tipping point for me, and I think many others, was that the ABC had been so publicly silent on Uganda while being so publicly the bully about the election in Los Angeles. And within a half-day of the vote!! Where are your priorities, man? That Lambeth still can not see the hypocrisy is really mind-boggling.

Today's morning office had one of the best sections of Psalm 119:

I implore your favour with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;
I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.
At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.
Psalm 119: 58-64

As always, I must remember to keep my eyes focused, my ears alert, and my heart open to the light, the truth and the love.