Mar 30, 2010

ATTN BIGOTS, BISHOPS, BULLIES and BLOWHARDS:


Irresponsbile, self-righteous RELIGIOUS PEOPLE OF EVERY STRIPE TAKE NOTE:

You know EXACTLY ¨what you do¨ and ¨what you continue to do¨ without looking back as you demonize, persecute and become accessories to SLANDER, RAPE and MURDER at the Anglican Communion and beyond! IT´S about YOU and there is no place to hide as you spew selective Scriptural filth and intiate crimes of hate from the pulpit directed against LGBT Christians and others! REPENT!

Phoebe Price, Bullied to DEATH!

¨As a group of teens in Massachusetts face landmark charges for harassing 15-year-old Phoebe Prince so brutally she committed suicide, Lucinda Franks speaks to teen bullies and a pioneering teacher about why kids torment peers.¨

¨The indictment of the students yesterday who bullied a South Hadley, Massachusetts, girl into committing suicide is an almost unprecedented move by prosecutors against a phenomenon that has overpowered the nation’s schools. The South Hadley district attorney, Elizabeth Scheibel, not only charged nine girls and boys between the ages of 16 and 18 with crimes ranging from assault with a dangerous weapon to statutory rape, she implicated the South Hadley school staff, who simply watched as Phoebe Prince, a beautiful 15-year-old who emigrated with her family from Ireland, was brutally harassed for some six months.

In this recent rash of teen suicides, this was the first time bullies, who had mercilessly tortured their marks, have been brought into the adult world to be indicted. The only exception has been beatings that left the victim in critical condition, such as the recent atrocities that took place in South Florida: Fifteen-year-old Wayne Treacy was indicted for attempted murder after he beat 15-year-old Josie Lou Ratley into a coma over a dispute carried on over escalating text messages. Ironically, the message that set the boy off referred to his brother, who had committed suicide.¨ HERE


· Thanks to The Daily Beast, sidebar
· Thanks to by Lucinda Franks
· Thanks to Getty Images
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

Mar 28, 2010

The Vatican at loggerheads with critics: Holy See and the Church hierarchy in denial and out of touch?


Protesters call for Pope's resignation over alleged sex abuse cover up.


¨Palm Sunday worshippers were startled to face strong protests against the Pope and calls for his resignation as "an accomplice in sex crimes" outside London's Westminster Cathedral.

The demonstration by 50 members of secularist, women's and gay organisations accused the Pope of "covering up child sex abuse by Catholic clergy" and called him a "protector of paedophile priests".

Some congegants had sympathy with the protest, but others were angry at what they accused of being an attempt to create generalised anti-Catholic sentiment out of the current child abuse crisis - which has been growing in scale and strength in recent days.



The Vatican is now at loggerheads with many of its critics, who accuse the Holy See and the Church hierarchy of being completely out of touch and in denial about the depth of the problem.

Radical and progressive Catholics, themselves strongly critical of the Church leadership and calling for sweeping change, including a possible Vatican III Council,
have been reluctant to ally with the style of the 'Protest the Pope' coalition.¨



To the National Catholic Reporter in the USA, he declared: "In his 24 years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from around the world, all cases of grave sexual offences by clerics had to be reported, under strictest secrecy ('secretum pontificum'), to his curial office, which was exclusively responsible for dealing with them. Ratzinger himself, in a letter on 'grave sexual crimes' addressed to all the bishops under the date of 18 May, 2001, warned the bishops, under threat of ecclesiastical punishment, to observe 'papal secrecy' in such cases. In his five years as Pope, Benedict XVI has done nothing to change this practice with all its fateful consequences."
HERE

Pope Benedict condemns 'petty gossip' over child sexual abuse scandal

Pope Benedict waves to pilgrims in St Peter's square as the start of mass to celebrate Palm Sunday.

¨Pope Benedict today risked inflaming opinion as he appeared to round on critics of the Catholic church over the widening sexual abuse scandal, saying he would not "be intimidated by ... petty gossip".

The 82-year-old pontiff led tens of thousands of people in a Palm Sunday service in St Peter's square. He did not mention the scandal engulfing the church directly, but parts of his sermon alluded to it.

The pope said that faith in God helped lead one "towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion".

He also spoke of how man can sometimes "fall to the lowest, vulgar levels" and "sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty...¨ HERE

¨PETTY¨ ?!? Gossip?...Decades Global Child Sexual Abuse Victims...Coverups---¨PETTY¨ ?!? Conspiracy !?!

With all due respect- Insensitive? Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
HERE

· Thanks to Ekklesia, United Kingdom
· Thanks to Getty Photo Images
· Thanks to The National Catholic Reporter
· Thanks to The Guardian, U.K.
· Thanks to Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
· Thanks to Father Marty Jurylowicz
· Thanks to Thalamus Center, sidebar

Mar 27, 2010

Pastor Ssempa/UGANDA categorically DENOUNCED by Philadelphia Biblical University: ¨A Response¨ to alumnus Martin Ssempa!


Pastor Martin Ssempa, the ¨Porno Preacher¨ Kampala, Uganda

Response to Ugandas Pastor Martin Ssempa by his Alma Mater.

¨Recently, Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa made statements concerning public policy regarding homosexuals in that nation. Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU) categorically condemns any position that calls for violence against human beings created in the image and likeness of God, or violent solutions to socially controversial issues. While PBU holds to a biblically defined position regarding human sexuality, to call for such action clearly violates the teaching of the Bible, and the principles and practices taught at PBU. Ssempa did earn a graduate degree from PBU in 1994. Ssempa also received an honorary degree from PBU in 2006 for his ministry of compassion to HIV/AIDS victims in his native land. The University was not aware at that time of Ssempa’s recently expressed views. His present publicly stated position in no way represents or reflects the views of the University, its administration, or its faculty. It is our sincere hope that Christians would hold their convictions regarding homosexuality with a spirit of grace and compassion toward all human beings.¨ HERE

-From the University Administration

-From Eruptions At The Foot Of The Volcano archive:

GAY IN AFRICA:¨From pulpits, that seem holy, despite the words of hate and venom pouring out of the mouths of the preachers.. HERE

·Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, sidebar
·Thanks to Jim Burroway
·Thanks to Philadelphia Biblical University
·Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

Mar 26, 2010

Nigerian Archbishop Nicholas Okoh: Homosexuality is ¨intended to destroy the established standard of morality¨


New Primate of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, has restated the position of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria against the practice of gay marriage in the church


Okoh, who is also the chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, while delivering the sermon of the day, said, “We do not approve of a homosexual lifestyle and same-sex marriages. Some want us to see it as a normal alternative lifestyle to marriage between male and female. We are saying we are sorry, we cannot accept this in the church.¨

The Rt. Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, Church of England, Anglican Communion HERO: English evangelical bishop calls for tolerance HERE

A leading voice in the evangelical wing of the Church of England, Bishop James Jones, speaking to his diocesan synod in Liverpool today says ¨the battle of sexuality in the Church needs to end.¨ +Jones


“My people, the danger in this kind of teaching...¨ +Nicholas Okoh

“The recent statement by the bishop of Liverpool is also not acceptable to us. He said since in the past the church had to live side by side with those who say war is okay and those who say war is alright, they are living together in one church.¨

“If you say homosexuality is okay, you go on, and if you say homosexuality is not okay, we all should go on like that.

“My people, the danger in this kind of teaching is that it establishes two authorities in the church - the scriptures on one hand and the canon of deviant sub-culture. It is intended to destroy the established standard of morality as it is written in the Bible. HERE

WHY I WRITE
by Kayode Oladele, Nigeria

¨The first reason why I write is that I want to challenge ignorance. There is a lot of ignorance around us; even among those we think or believe they know. Too often, we concede too much to people, believing that they know, only for us to discover, when it is too late that they do not know. The most dangerous form of ignorance in Nigeria today comes from our leadership, many of those who govern us do not know, they do not care to know and they do not want to know. Even when they are told that they do not know, they get angry, instead of looking up to their inadequacy and how to rectify them, they turn the heat on those who told them so.¨ HERE


UPDATED: ¨So instead of focusing his moral leadership on, say, inter-religious violence and the need for Christians and Muslims to find a way to live together peaceably for the good of Nigeria, Okah talks about homosexuality
HERE

·Thanks to The Punch, Nigeria
·Thanks to The Bishop of Liverpool
·Thanks to Kayode Oladele
·Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
·Thanks to Episcopal Cafe
·Thanks to The Times, UK
·Thanks to Ruth Gledhill
·Thanks to Andrew Gerns

TAKE ACTION AGAINST BIGOTRY AND IGNORANCE: The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org


Lionel Deimel, Anglican HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨

Mar 25, 2010

Archbishop Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh, Primate of Nigeria: Join us in observing "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"

“ That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn. ”

Talmud, Shabbat 31a, the "Great Principle HERE


Lagos — The new Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), His Eminence, Most Reverend Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh will be installed today in Abuja. He becomes the fourth Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.

He takes over from the Most Rev Peter Akinola who vacates his office today.

Formerly the Archbishop of Bendel Province, comprising 13 Dioceses, he was elected Bishop in 2001 and became the Arch -bishop in 2005 when the then Archbishop of Bendel Province died.

Born 57 years ago, Okoh, a retired Lt. Colonel, lived most of life as a military Chaplain where he served in the Nigerian Army for 32 years. He retired in 2001 after his election as Bishop of Asaba.

The new Primate was elected in after a hitch free voting exercise by the house of Bishops at the Cathedral Church of St. Stephen's Umuahia, Abia State. Archbishop Okoh secured two-thirds majority of the total votes cast, beating three other clerics who contested with him.

An indigene of Owa-Alero in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, Archbishop Okoh attended the famous Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan, Oyo State between 1976 and 1979. He was made deacon in 1979, preferred a Canon in 1987, collated Archdeacon in 1991 and was elected Bishop of Asaba in 2001.

Reflecting on his journey to the leadership of the Anglican Church, he told THISDAY in an exclusive interview: "I must say to the glory of God that I was not a clergy man when I went to the Army, it was in the Army that I was trained. In other words, the Army did the training. All my training as Catchist, as a Clergyman were all sponsored by the Ministry of Defence."

After his training, he returned to the Bishop of Asaba for ordination and then returned to the Army to serve. He served in Jos as a garrison Chaplain. He later attended the University of Ibadan for further studies after which he was posted to Lagos where he pastored St Luke Military Church, All Saints Army Headquarters Church, Abati Barracks and later became garrison Chaplain in Lagos.

He was at various times 2 Division Chaplain , 3 Armoured Division Deputy Director Chaplain, and a Colonel Coordinate.

He got married October 4th, 1986, and ¨we are blessed in that marriage with five children.¨ HERE

·Thanks to All Africa
·Thanks to The Sage Hillel
·Thanks to The Great Commandment
·Thanks to Wikipedia
·Thanks to The Ten Commandments
·Thanks be To God

Mar 23, 2010

COUNTDOWN--A WELL DESERVED RETIREMENT: Archbishop Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate/Nigeria, is RETIRING within the next 72 HOURS!





The Most Reverend Peter Akinola, Primate/Nigeria, Dar el Salaam Meeting

¨Akinola who is due for retirement in the next 72 hours was speaking at a farewell media parley in Abuja during which he formally introduced his would-be successor, Most Reverend Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh HERE

NEW PRIMATE FOR CHURCH OF NIGERIA

Primate-designate, Reverend Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh HERE

·Thanks to The Sun News On-line, Nigeria
·Thanks to The Episcopal Church, ¨Welcomes Everyone¨
·Thanks to David Green, The Episcopal/Pride Shield
·Thanks to Scott Gunn, +Akinola ¨Cover-up¨ Photo
·Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

Mar 22, 2010

RACIAL and ANTI-GAY slurs=mass HYSTERIA: ¨If they want to smear someone, they can do it” Assistant Republican Whip, Devin Nunes,¨ on CSPAN


For years I´ve been pontificating, posting and commenting about the dangerous instigating of hate/hate-crimes against People of Color, Women and our Gay brothers and Sisters done by self-imagined ¨notable citizens¨ and loud mouthed ignoramouses. Initiating hate is not only done in ¨back alleys¨ anymore! Increasingly/more often fear and hate are perpetrated at the pulpit at Church! Bankrupt, yet fundraising and always scheming, unfit Spiritual Leaders and Corrupt/Overblown ego-driven Public Officials harm others. They hurt others with their menacing and demoralizing mudslinging speech and innermost terror and desperation of not getting what they think the MUST HAVE. Hate that incites unstable cowboys/girls, bigots, misfits and lost Souls armed with weapons.

The name-calling and filth that vicious bullies, abusers (of all stripes) and greedy thugs who once whispered and gaffawed about Afro-American, Mexican-Americas (includes all Latinos), Asian-Americans and LBGT-American citizens is NOW SPEWING OUT OF CONTROL IN PUBLIC! The ¨haters¨ have given themselves, with not-so-holy encouragement, permission to run their mouths off while quoting SELECTIVE Scriptural twisted, and rearranged, sexual fantasies attempting to cover their fear and hate! This isn´t Democracy in action nor Christianity, it´s the demonizing of other HUMAN BEINGS for self-gratification, emotional instability, despising the ¨marginalized¨ and/or stark shabby efforts for personal gain and crack-pot reassurance! It´s part of a exploitive pattern of diverting attention/scapegoating everyday REALITY in SOCIETY in order to fuel fear, hate, selfishness and promote GREED as being ¨normal¨ (it isn´t normal, it´s INSANE)...ALL this clammour is orchestrated by the emotionally and spiritually unfit who insist and demand they MUST be RIGHT and they are willing to mud wrestle to prove it!

NOTE/BEWARE: The thieves and cowards are on the RUN and are FREAKING OUT all around us and on the ¨unfair and unbalenced¨ Faux TV too! Be careful as these folks are running amuck and their ¨stray bullet points¨ may hit a innocent target near you!



¨After being subjected to anti-gay slurs, Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank has called a weekend Tea Party protest “mass hysteria.”

Democratic Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusets

¨Both on Saturday and Sunday, Frank, who is openly gay, was taunted by protesters¨

¨During one incident, reported by Talking Points Memo, a protester yelled “Barney, you faggot” as the 69-year-old lawmaker rounded a corner to leave the Longworth House Office Building. A surrounding crowd erupted in laughter.

Frank also confirmed reports that other protesters shouted “homo communist” at him and another told him to “go homo to Massachusetts. “I'm disappointed at an unwillingness to be just civil,” HERE

¨Other sources reported that African-American Democratic lawmakers were also insulted.¨

United States Congressman and Civil Rights Pioneer John Lewis, Georgia

¨Representatives Andre Carson from Indiana and John Lewis from Georgia told The Hill that they were subjected to racial epithets from protesters as they walked outside the Capitol.¨

United States Congressman, Andre Carson, Indiana

“I've heard this before in the 60's,” Lewis, considered a leader of the civil rights movement, said. “A lot of this is just downright hate.”

¨While several Republican leaders, including party boss Michael Steele, denounced the racial and anti-gay slurs, others justified the protester's actions.¨

Republican Congressman Devin Nunes and Elizabeth Nunes, of San Joaquin Valley, California (During the ¨Bush Years¨)

Rep. Devin Nunes is a Congressman from the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley of California. He is currently serving in his fourth term in the House of Representatives and is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, Social Security, Medicare, and trade. He also is a member of the House Budget Committee. Assistant Republican Minority Whip

“When you use totalitarian tactics, people, you know, begin to act crazy,” Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican, said on CSPAN. “I think that people have every right to say what they want. If they want to smear someone, they can do it.” Republican Congressman Devin Nunes

Republican Downplays Tea Party “Fa**ot" Slur

Republican Congressman Steven King, Iowa

¨Rep. Steve King of Iowa sought to downplay Tea Partyers’ use of antigay and racial slurs against lawmakers Saturday, saying that he does not think the comments, which included calling Congressman Barney Frank a “fa**ot," are a big deal.

Protesters against health care reform heckled and spat at lawmakers outside the Capitol on Saturday, directing racist and antigay slurs toward lawmakers including Frank and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, an African-American and leader of the civil rights movement.¨ HERE

Republican Randy Neugebauer Statement on "Baby Killer"

Republican Congressman Randy Neugebauer, Texas

¨I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologize to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill. The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate." HERE

¨The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect¨ Right, tell that to your Republican accomplice who yelled out ¨LIAR¨ at the President during his State of The Union address!

Unfortunately many of these Republican enthusiasts threaten OUR COLLECTIVE NATIONAL EMOTIONAL GOOD HEALTH!

UPDATE: ¨Right-wing extremists are threatening Democrats who voted for health care reform with violence. This, after Congressman John Lewis was called a "nigger" and Barney Frank was called a "faggot." This, after Congressman Randy Neugebauer called Bart Stupak a "baby killer" and, essentially, refused to take it back. The Republican Party has to be very careful about where it's headed.¨
Read more: HERE

UPDATE FRIDAY 3/26/2010: Rep. Nunes calls Hill aides ‘staff thugs,’ compares Pelosi to Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe

Submitted by NewsSystem on Fri, 03/26/2010 - 15:45 Think Progress

¨Some of the most inflammatory rhetoric in recent days surrounding the health care debate has come from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), who excused the racist, homophobic slurs at the recent Capitol Hill Tea Party by saying that they were a justifiable response to Democrats’ “totalitarian tactics.” He has also said Democratic congressmen from California are “part of this totalitarian regime in Washington” whose “votes are for sale.” McClatchy reports that he is now comparing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to infamous international dictators: Nunes said Pelosi and her lieutenant, Rep. George ...¨ HERE

·Thanks to Talking Points Memo, sidebar
·Thanks to Josh Marshall
·Thanks to Representative Barney Frank, Massachusetts
·Thanks to Representative Andre Carson, Indiana
·Thanks to Representative John Lewis, Georgia
·Thanks to David Lapham
·Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
·Thanks to Julie Bolcer
·Thanks to Wounded Bird, sidebar
·Thanks to June Butler
·Thanks to Advocate.Com, sidebar
·Thanks to Time.com
·Thanks to Joe Klein

Mar 21, 2010

GAYS ARE TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING: ¨Terrorism, 9/11, Srebrenica, Nazi Germany, the Genocide in Rwanda, earthquakes...you name it!¨


Gays are to blame!


It can all be thrown at the feet of iniquitous gays, since the times of Sodom and Gomorrah.


Of course, we are to blame for the Catholic Church's celibacy policy, and priests abusing children. Who else is there to blame?


Gay is the new Jew? I think that is the saying. And, mate, arent we great Jews!


All the Christians blame us, for one thing or another.


A Round Up by Gay Uganda, HERE


·Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
·Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar

Mar 20, 2010

GREAT NEWS OF MARY GLASSPOOL FROM THE DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES and feelings of shame with the disturbing response of Archbishop Rowan Williams.

PRIDE and SHAME at The Anglican Communion

Standing Together: Bishops-elect Diane Jardine Bruce (far back)and Mary Douglas Glasspool (back center) are joined by Bishop J. Jon Bruno (second from right), Bishop Suffragan Chester Talton (right) and Bishop Assistant Sergio Carranza (left) Consecrations scheduled for May!

¨...This week we saw yet another momentous day for GLBT Episcopalians—one that will surely continue to rock the boat—in the consent to the election of Mary Glasspool . Again, it happens legally under the cannons of the Episcopal Church that were strengthened by the legislation in Anaheim last year. Again, it has caused the head patriarch of the family to eye us with suspicion. And Again I am proud—but this time I have a huge amount of Shame¨

Archbishop Rowan Williams, ¨shameful response¨

¨The shame has nothing to do with the great news of LA, but with the disturbing response of Archbishop Rowan Williams. I do not presume to understand what it is like to be a titular head of a denomination so vastly spread across the world, socio-economic strata, and political and theological spectrums. What I do not hear is the same response at words of hatred against us his GLBT members, or the continued efforts of foreign provinces to usurp property in the Episcopal Church. Most deeply ashamed am I of his restrained responses towards the near holocaust-level hatred that is fueling the “Kill Gays Bill” in Uganda¨.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, a welcome sign of ¨Spirit moving in the Church¨

¨One of the signs of the Spirit moving in the Church is that this consent comes on the heels of statements of inclusion and support from a Patriarch so wise that non-believes will turn to listen to him, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He is like that wise old family member that knows that the love of the God and the true bonds of affection that bind a family together are stronger than sexuality or morality. He understands that it is crucial to our faith to accept GLBT Christians into the fold and to celebrate with Easter joy when one like Mary Glasspool is called to be a Bishop among us. He warns us of the demoralizing and demonic destruction that awaits those who shun the outcast, hate those who differ, and seek legislation to exterminate that which we do not want to understand.

I only wish Archbishop Williams would listen to Archbishop Tutu and realize that we too are God’s loved children, that we too are called by the Spirit to serve and lead the Church, and that we deserve to solemnize our love in the Church’s sacraments. Williams, it seems, does not see this, Uganda does not want to see this…and that should make us all ashamed and outraged.
Tutu sees this—Los Angeles sees this—and those that consented to Mary Glasspool’s election see this, and that should make us all proud and filled with an Easter joy.¨ HERE


·Thanks to Chap James Day, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to Walking With Integrity, sidebar
·Thanks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to Bishop Jon Bruno, diocese of Los Angeles, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to Bishop Suffragan Chester Talton, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to Bishop Assistant Sergio Carranza, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to The Suffragan Bishop-elect Bruce, Anglican HERO
·Thanks to The Suffragan Bishop-elect Glasspool, Anglican HERO

Mar 18, 2010

Attention Archbishop of Canterbury: Dr. Rowan Williams you are ¨insulting and patronizing¨ as you pander to murderous Central African bishops

Bishop Rowan, right vs. wrong and his deadly game of religious PRETEND

¨In response to the news that Mary Glasspool has received the necessary consents to become bishop suffragan for Los Angeles, there has been a brief and somewhat vague statement from Lambeth Palace¨:

¨It is regrettable that the appeals from Anglican Communion bodies for continuing gracious restraint have not been heeded. Following the Los Angeles election in December the archbishop made clear that the outcome of the consent process would have important implications for the communion. The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion reiterated these concerns in its December resolution which called for the existing moratoria to be upheld. Further consultation will now take place about the implications and consequences of this decision

¨The consequences? How about a church that will not justify bigotry in the name of God? How about a church that strives to be a place for all the baptized? How about a church that seeks to raise up leaders that are clearly called by God, without placing artificial stumbling blocks in their way?

Yes, there will be consequences. Thanks be to God.¨

Father Jake

Father Jake Stops the World: Lambeth Response, HERE

The Reverend Canon Mark Harris at PRELUDIUM

¨Whatever his next steps, the Archbishop needs to remember one thing... one little thing.

Asking for "continuing gracious restraint," is insulting and patronizing.

Got it?¨

PRELUDIUM: Gracious Restraint again! HERE

Rowan Williams worries more about Gay Bishops than Murder

¨We knew it would come sooner than later. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, would surely issue a statement about our church’s consent to Mary Glasspool to serve as a bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

Mind you, he took weeks and weeks and months to speak out against legislation that would execute gay/lesbian people in Africa. Much pressure was exerted on him, and he ignored all that pressure. He said he needed to study the situation and be sensitive to it. He needed months to speak out against legislation that would authorize the murder of gay Christians in Africa. He said he was being sensitive to their cultural realities...¨

My Manner of Life: Rowan Williams Worries More about Gay Bishops than Murder, HERE

The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican religious leader.

There's Nothing Regrettable About LGBT Clergy

Archbishop Rowan Williams, the head of the worldwide Anglican Church, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual leader from South Africa, are both renowned global leaders when it comes to issues of faith. But when it comes to the subject of the dignity and value of LGBT clergy, both couldn't be further apart.

This week, the U.S. Episcopal Church elected Rev. Mary Glasspool to become an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Rev. Glasspool is openly lesbian, and her election as a bishop will make some historical waves. She will become only the second openly LGBT bishop in the country (behind New Hampshire's Bishop Gene Robinson), and the first woman to be elected bishop in Los Angeles.

While much of the U.S. Episcopalian Church welcomed the announcement that Rev. Glasspool would soon be changing the prefix before her name to Bishop, Archbishop Williams greeted the news with cynicism and sadness. He called Rev. Glasspool's election as bishop "regrettable."
"It is regrettable that the appeals from Anglican Communion bodies for continuing gracious restraint have not been heeded," the Archbishop said via statement.

The "restraint" that Archbishop Williams references is his desire to see the U.S. Episcopalian Church hold off on electing openly LGBT bishops. It's a hot-button issue, he contends, that is dividing the Church in ways that may shatter the Church's global cohesion.

At least that's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it would be that Rev. Glasspool brings a range of talents and gifts as Bishop that have absolutely nothing to do with her sexual orientation. Should she be punished simply because of who she loves?

And that's where Archbishop Desmond Tutu comes in. Last week, in a question and answers jam session with TIME Magazine, Tutu said that LGBT clergy offer the Church a vast array of gifts. Tutu said it was his duty as a person of faith to support them.

"If I don't support them, why support the appointment of any other person? Their sexuality is as much a part of who they are as my race is. They don't choose it. I don't choose it," Tutu said.

What a teachable moment. While the leader of the worldwide Anglican Church greets the news of a lesbian bishop by issuing a statement of regret, Tutu takes sexual orientation off the table, and boils us all down to our common basic humanity. And when you view everyone through that lens, what does it matter whether they are gay, straight, black, white, male or female?

Meanwhile, the official bishop of Los Angeles, Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, challenged Archbishop Williams' assertion that Rev. Mary Glasspool would be a huge regret for the Church. Instead, Bruno said that God works in mysterious ways. And sometimes those ways are by bringing openly gay people to the seats of power within our institutions.

"I'm overjoyed," Bruno said. "We're going to go ahead with a fabulous ordination and consecration ... and we're going to celebrate the fact that just action has occurred." He then added that it might just be the Holy Spirit's doing, placing Rev. Glasspool in a position of church leadership, with the blessing of most of her U.S. peers.

There's simply nothing regrettable about seeing LGBT clergy become more prominent in houses of faith across this country, and throughout the globe. The only thing regrettable is that in some corners of the world, religious folks would rather focus on who a person loves rather than who a person is.¨ HERE

·Thanks to Father Jake, sidebar
·Thanks to The Reverend Mark Harris
·Thanks to Preludium, sidebar
·Thanks to The Reverend Terry Martin
·Thanks to My Manner of Life,sidebar
·Thanks to Lisa Fox
·Thanks to Change.Org, sidebar
·Thanks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
·Thanks to Time Magazine
·Thanks to Bishop Jon Bruno, Los Angeles
·Thanks to Michael A. Jones

TAKE ACTION: The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org


Lionel Deimel, HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨

Mar 17, 2010

UGANDA BURNING/‘Nga kitalo!’: Kasubi Royal Tombs AFLAME--anti-Government sentiment rampant

Kasubi Tombs burning (Joseph Kiggundu / Daily Monitor)

UGANDA BURNING!

Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi II and Nnabagereka

¨...dangerous developments that are now unfolding in the traditional kingdom of Buganda. Uganda is divided into several such traditional kingdoms, with the kingdom of Buganda being nominally headed by a traditional king (known as a Kabaka) and his cabinet. Their positions have cultural significance, but under Uganda’s constitution they hold no political power. Nevertheless, the Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, is widely revered and respected among the Baganda. Tensions between the Kabaka and Museveni have been building ever since the Ugandan government blocked the Kabaka from visiting the disputed Kayunga district just outside of Kampala last September
HERE
Map of Uganda, with the Buganda kingdom shown in green and Lake Victoria in Blue.

GASOLINE ON FIRE!

¨Yesternight, the Masiiro, (my apologies, Baganda, if I am getting that wrong!), the Kasubi Royal Tombs caught fire. New Vision puts the age of those revered grass thatched houses as close to 140 years. And, far as I could see, this is a part which had staid frozen in time.

Apparently, it is more than a tourist attraction.
It was, or is a shrine. And, from what I hear, some of the important cultural things were saved. And, that that was one of the reasons why the fire trucks were kept away.

Arson is suspected. Of course. Personally, I don’t think the venerable huts could have passed any fire inspection- BUT, what am I to offer such sacrilegious observations??? After all, they have survived 138 Years.

The government is suspected.

Early morning, into the palace grounds flow Baganda youths. All crying, something priceless has been lost. Soldiers, and more soldiers too.
Did I mention that the days greetings was ‘Nga kitalo!’ Traditionally, it is for a death in the family, on the village. But, who says what. A week of mourning has been declared by the Katikiro, the Kingdom’s premier. To them, to the Baganda, it was that serious.

Now, here comes the President. From a different tribal group. In conflict with the Baganda over various issues, a long running chronic ulcer that is seeping his support.

Someone advised him to visit the Kasubi Royal Tombs.

What?! HERE


THE ARMY OF UGANDA BRINGS INSECURITY

¨Most of the news on the fm stations is about what happened last night. The TVs. Even the government station cant miss the big story.
The burning of the Royal Tombs. The grief of the Baganda tribal group. The outpouring of anger and anti-government sentiment...HERE

PRESIDENT MUSEVENI GOES THERE

¨Who doesn’t know that he is the president? And, who doesn’t know that despite the fear of the man, the angry traditionalists would be hurling insults at the president? It was their day of moaning. The King’s Tombs had been burnt down. They suspected the government. And, the personification of the government came….

So, seven lives lost. To bullet wounds. Which only the security forces had. The guns.

And, you could have watched the difference. When the President visited, and when the Kabaka visited. The mass adulation, the joy, the mobbing of the vehicles.
The very people who had been chased away, some killed in live fire from police and army, were the ones who were welcoming their leader with joy.

No evidence of chaos. No evidence of rowdiness. Of course, the police and army were not there! They were only present for the protection of the president…¨ ...HERE

About the Kabaka

¨Kabaka is the head of the Ganda nation and Baganda look to him for cultural, political, and spiritual guidance. Indeed, most of Ganda cultural practices and norms can be traced to utterances or orders of the Kabaka. Only one person may be referred to as Kabaka at any one time - once a Kabaka is deceased, he is referred to a Ssekabaka.

As Ssabataka, Kabaka is the unprejudiced leader of all Baganda clans and their heads (abataka). The office of Kabaka is not hereditary but only a prince of Buganda (mulangira) can become Kabaka, the highest priority being given to the sons of the passing Kabaka. Kabaka, in his official role, does not belong to a clan, the way other Baganda do. However, the prince occupying the office of Kabaka is still a member of the Balangira (princes and princesses) clan and belongs to a mutuba in that clan. Furthermore, Ganda culture strongly ties Kabaka to his mother's clan and he generally relates to it as a son, giving them special privileges above other clans. Indeed, Kabaka does not marry from his mother's clan (okuzira) because many Baganda view him as a de facto member of that clan. This enables a natural rotation of the opportunity to produce the next Kabaka from one clan to another over time, probably the best explanation of the strong love Baganda have for Kabaka.¨ ...HERE

·Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
·Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, sidebar
·Thanks to Jim Burroway
·Thanks to Joseph Kiggundu, Daily Monitor
·Thanks to The New York Times, sidebar
·Thanks to Ganda Ancestry

TAKE ACTION: The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org

From the U.S.A. to Uganda/Central Africa with Christian LOVE: ¨We need to fight the unnatural gay vice¨


Homophobia is Informed by Ignorance

¨That has been like a light bulb jumping on in my head.

I was working on the previous post, and my conclusion that the Catholic church in Uganda was caught between its ignorance of things homosexual, [even relative to the official Catholic doctrine], and the belief that informing their minds to the contrary would be ‘promoting homosexuality’.

But, that is surely true for a lot of what has been happening. Those who shout most about gays, [excluding Ssempa], are actually supremely ignorant of what they are talking about. Of course they have amazed the world with regards to their ignorance. But, more than that, they have entrenched their ignorance by the contention that any information to the contrary would be ‘promoting homosexuality’.

So, of course the Archbishop of York, and Canterbury, were derisively dismissed for ‘promoting homosexuality’. And, so was Rick Warren. No voice of reason fails to excite that remarkable charge.

To highlight the pits of ignorance, just check out this article from one of the MPs of Uganda. Obua Denis Hamson.
No, he is not the Benson Obua-Ogwal, the co-sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality bill. The friend who calls me a gay pervert. Simply because I am gay.


The title is all informative. ¨We need to fight the unnatural gay vice¨
HERE


THE UNNATURAL GAY VICE ACCORDING TO IGNORANCE


MP of Uganda, Obua Denis Hamson
Mobile Telephone: 0772-834388
Landline: 0414377123
Date of birth: 06/02/1980
Email address: dobua@parliament.go.ug

¨In Uganda, and the world over, there have been many contentious deliberations on the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently under scrutiny in the Parliament of Uganda.¨

¨In Genesis 19:4-11 the Bible clearly outlaws any carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature. In these verses, men who had sex with other men were made blind by God. Also, Genesis 2:24 says that a man will leave his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and in that way, two people become one.

From the above biblical analysis, it is a fact beyond any reasonable doubt that naturally, a man goes with a woman, a bull goes with a cow, a cock goes with a hen, and that is the order of nature...¨

· ¨To fellow Africans, the choices, actions and agreements made now will determine which future becomes a reality for the younger generation. It is our role to speak on moral and unnatural issues affecting our continent.¨

· ¨I applaud the authorities in Malawi for arresting two men recently on charges of public indecency after becoming the first gay couple to marry in a country where homosexuality is illegal. I am reliably informed that the court in Malawi has further denied the two bail for their own protection.¨

· ¨It will also be recalled that Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, said his country is made up of believers and that such sinful and immoral practices as homosexuality will not be tolerated.¨

· ¨President Jammeh vowed to “cut off the head” of any homosexual found in his country and said that a legislation will be introduced, which will be “stiffer than those in Iran”, concerning such acts.¨

Read it all, By Obua Denis Hamson, Member of the Parliament of Uganda - Youth Northern Region HERE

Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, the gay couple jailed since January in Malawi for daring to hold an engagement ceremony, will learn their fate on Monday.

The AP reports that religious leaders met this week to discuss homosexuality ahead of the verdict:

"Church leaders say they have met in this fiercely conservative southern African nation to 'understand the phenomenon' of same sex partners days ahead of a court verdict that could send two gay men to jail for up to 14 years. Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe, head of the Malawi Council of Churches, says the leaders gathered Wednesday in the southern town of Mangochi to discuss homosexuality as an issue 'most Malawians do not understand.'

"
Amnesty International has adopted Monjeza and Chimbalanga as "prisoners of conscience" ahead of the verdict: "LGBT human rights group, OutRage!. The group's campaign coordinator, Tatchell, has written to the Director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen. The group coordinator Peter Tatchell letter to Ms Allen reads in part: 'We urge Amnesty International to adopt Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga as Prisoners of Conscience...Everyone is very appreciative of the statement that Amnesty has already issued, which deplores the men's arrest and calls for their release. We are now hoping that Amnesty will go one step further and recognise them as Prisoners of Conscience.' HERE

You can join in Amnesty's campaign to the Malawi government Malawian men on trial for 'unnatural offences' HERE

You can also send letters of support directly to the couple. HERE

·Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
·Thanks to The Observer, Uganda
·Thanks to Towleroad, sidebar
·Thanks to Amnesty International
·Thanks to Peter Tatchell
·Thanks to Kate Allen
·Thanks to Associated Press
·Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, sidebard
·Thanks to Jim Burroway
·Thanks to The Daily Monitory, Uganda
·Thanks to Joseph Kiggundu

Become a HERO!

TAKE ACTION: The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org


Lionel Deimel, HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨