Poor Uganda!

Uganda fights to keep straight, but money stands in the way

By John Njoroge

Homosexuality is keeping Uganda in the news. Human Rights Watch, the International Aids Society and other gay rights organisations have blacklisted Uganda as insensitive to homosexuals and are making a lot of noise about it. Clearly, they have made some progress. The word that was taboo is now an openly talked about subject in some places. Ironically, the church, the very institution that is fiercely against homosexuality, is the very one bringing it into the limelight.

Renowned Kansanga Miracle Centre church pastor Isaac Kiwewesi was recently accused of sodomising five members of his congregation. As if that was not bad enough, another pastor, Solomon Male brought up similar charges against Kiwewesi, this time claiming that his own son had been sodomised by Kiwewesi. The police later acquitted Pastor Kiwewesi of these allegations and in a strange twist of justice, arrested one of the complainants David Arinatwe in connection with theft.

These events may not seem alarming to the ordinary Ugandan but to Hon. Nsaba Buturo, minister of state for ethics and integrity, religious leaders like Pastor Martin Sempa, Pastor Solomon Male and Sheikh Shaban Mubajje, homosexuality is threatening to erode the moral fiber of Uganda.

Many Ugandans abhor the idea of homosexuality, but for some it’s a means of survival, a guarantee to get a visa or refugee status in a Western country or just simply a sexual orientation.

Aloysius Mukisa is a former homosexual. He runs an electrical appliance shop on Sunset Arcade in Kampala. He says he got into homosexuality to escape poverty.

“I worked as a mechanic in Naalya (a Kampala suburb) for two years after my ‘A’ levels. I couldn’t proceed to university due to lack of money,” he said. “My girlfriend at the time brought the idea of going to the UK for odd jobs. I tried but didn’t succeed.” He managed to go to South Africa where he became a fake traditional healer. “We were many Ugandans and competition was stiff. We turned to drugs to forget our problems and soon I got into homosexuality to get money,” said Mukisa. He goes on: “Sometime in 2007, I was involved in a car accident in Pretoria. The authorities discovered I was illegally living in South Africa and when I got better I was deported. While in hospital, I discovered I was HIV positive.”

At 32, James Mwini (not real name) is very successful. A graduate of law from Makerere University, Mwini is also studying accounting and works for a prestigious international bank in Kampala.

He leaves in Bugolobi, drives a good car and dresses tastefully. He is friendly, generous and most evenings he entertains his close friends at the city’s best bars. Mwini is a bisexual and in an interview with The Independent he said he feels trapped.

“I wish I was like any other man. I wish I could get a girlfriend, marry and have children,” said Mwini. His parents are now are asking him to settle down and give them grandchildren. His elder brother is a father of three already.

This is how he got trapped. In 2000 while at Makerere University, Mwini was in a relationship with an American woman who was working with a children’s NGO in Kampala. Mwini narrates: “My girlfriend had a house in Kansanga. I was very much in love with her. We would host wild parties at her home very often. On one such night, we became drunk and got carried away. We invited a man to our bed and had sex with him. The man asked me for anal sex, my girlfriend got excited and said she wanted to watch. I wanted to please her so I accepted. It became a habit and she would always be there watching us. By the time she left Uganda, I couldn’t turn back.”

Its eight years since that wild time but Mwini is still a homosexual, so entrenched that he can no longer hold his stool. He depends on sanitary towels to avoid soiling himself. He does not have sexual relations with women because he is never attracted to women. He also fears getting intimate with a woman because he cannot hide the physical damage of homosexuality.

The law on homosexuality and lesbianism in Uganda is vague. Constitutionally it is not a crime for anyone to declare that they are homosexual, nor is it a crime to distribute gay literature. However it is a crime to practice acts that suggest gay or lesbian tendencies like same sex marriages, two people of the same sex kissing in public or having sexual relations with an individual or individuals of the same sex.

In the meantime, the signs are there that homosexuality is growing in the Ugandan society. Between September 22 and 27, workshops were held at the Grand Imperial Hotel and at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. Both workshops were organized by the gay community in Uganda. At least once a month, a workshop of this nature is held in a different town somewhere in the country. These workshops are well attended and well funded from within and internationally. Local funding comes from the homosexuals who, according to some reports, include rich businessmen and politicians.

Normally, the agenda of these conferences is to encourage the gay community not to feel alone, to network, introduce new members, offer sex education and to raise money to support gays who are being persecuted because of their openness about their sexual orientation and also to recruit new members. Recruitment is reportedly highest in secondary schools and in prisons.

According to Buturo, gay tendencies in the west were as a result of ideology sown earlier in their civilization. “To say that it is ok for two men or two women to have sexual relationship with each other is not civilization but savagery,” he said. “To also imply that Uganda must embrace ideologies of this nature is not only unfair, but insane. This government will not be put at ransom to allow these practices to continue. I have heard that in some countries, same sex organizations are asking their governments not to give aid to Uganda until it allows what they call human rights practices to be restored. We say strongly, we don’t need that kind of aid.”

Buturo is aware that homosexuality may be a bigger problem since it is a well guarded secret that spreads quietly. There is also a growing number of bisexuals. There are reports of couples who invite others in their beds to “spice” things up. The couples who engage in these acts do not consider themselves homosexuals, rather, they think they are adventurous.

But there may be fewer homosexuals in Uganda. There are reports that there are many people who are claiming to be homosexual to get money. Others do it to secure asylum abroad. Buturo may be glad to know that the fight to keep Uganda straight may not be lost yet but he should not forget that one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Poor Uganda indeed. Besieged by the money and evil of homosexuality.

Sometimes I wonder whether the deluge of misinformation from those who believe we are evil is not overwhelming. I would have expected someone to point out the inconsistencies in this article. Fat chance, it seems! Gug

Be Afraid of THEM

Uganda People News: Bwanika warns parents on homosexuality

The President of the People’s development Party (PDP) Dr. Abed Bwanika has appealed to parents to be cautious of their children when choosing the schools to take them to so as to avoid them from adopting the immoral practices of homosexuality and lesbianism.

He says, there are schools in the country set up by homosexuality and lesbianism organisations to encourage the immoral practices.

Although the two practices are banned by the Ugandan constitution, they are widely practiced. Kiwewesi a prominent Kampala pastor was recently accused of sodomy.

Bwanika told journalists at the PDP headquarters in Kampala yesterday that parents should advocate for the revision of the Uganda schooling system to encourage, the setting up of mixed schools and abolishment of single schools because they encourage the immoral practices.

He says parents should also stop taking their children to boarding primary schools, where most learn the immoral behaviours. He says keeping children in day schools will help parents impart moral values to their children and to constantly monitor their behaviours.

The PDP president appealed to doctors, who operate many of the victims of homosexuality to report such cases to the police so that the culprits can be punished.

Bwanika also appealed to the government to priotise the fight against the practice of homosexuality through increased funding to the Ethics ministry, the police and increased sensitisation programmes on the dangers of the practices.

Abed Bwanika, a Veterinary Doctor, a Pentecostal Pastor, and a former Presidential Candidate

Dad's Unhappy, Jide. Sorry that you have to pay the price

Ripples over theological varsity and Lagos gay church
Written by JAMES EZEMA & EBUN BABALOLA
Sunday, 12 October 2008

Father of the controversial pastor of Lagos gay church, Professor Olakunle Macaulay, tells the story of his son and assembly.

OVER the last thirty years, according to a 2007 homosexual welcoming church survey in the United States, in a report by gaychurch.org, gay Christian revival has grown and evolved into the dynamic influence it is today.

With gay Christian movement on massive growth with no slowing in sight, more and more self confessed homosexual priests are being ordained by some Christian denominations across the world. Recently, the first homosexual church in Nigeria, House of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church, celebrated its second year anniversary in Lagos.

Media reports on the gay church and on the anniversary celebration had sparked off reactions. A theological institution in Lagos, United Bible University (UBU), was linked with activities of the gay church and that was the basis of a press conference tagged “Knowing and Speaking the Truth” held by the school.

The atmosphere was full of speculations as media men took their seats. Would the man in the eye of the storm, Rev. Rowland Macaulay, surface? Was his father, the founder of the institute, going to own up and support his son’s homosexual activities? Will he deny the knowledge of all that happened? Is the institution the headquarters of the “evil church” also said to be located at Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos State as reported? These and more were questions running through the minds of some of the journalists who were seated at the venue.

But when Augustus Olakunle Macaulay, 71-year old professor of systematic theology and biblical studies, who is the director of studies of UBU and other officials were introduced to the journalists by the moderator, Mr. Chris Pemu, it became obvious that Rev. Rowland Babajide Macaulay, pastor of the gay church was not part of the press conference. As Prof. Macaulay put it, “I called you here to tell my own side of the story”.

The director of studies of UBU, which is said to be the second registered theological university in Africa, confirmed at the press conference, held at its 36/38, Yakoyo Road, Ojodu, Lagos, that his son, Rowland Macaulay, is homosexual and pastors a gay church. Like a hard pill to swallow and with a burdened heart of an affectionate father, he said, “Rev. Rowland Babajide Macaulay, the pastor of House of Rainbow in Nigeria is my second son.

I cannot deny him as a son. He is a gift of God. I accept him from God and every parent, no matter how good or bad a child may be, will never deny his or her own child. Rowland is my child, I cannot deny him as a son. I love him and respect him because he is intelligent and he is a very good son.”

Prof. Macaulay, an advocate of quality Christian theological education and who is the incumbent president of Association of Christian Theologians (ACTS) that regulate Christian theological education in Nigeria, was quick to state that though he loves and respects his son, he does not and can never approve of his homosexual activities nor have any thing to do with his church. Quoting from I Corinthians 6: 9-10 and Revelation 21: 8, he added that in accordance with the Bible, homosexual offenders will not inherit the Kingdom of God as their place is the fiery lake of burning sulphur.

“I have never had anything to do with homosexuality and lesbianism and will never, by the grace of God. The Bible condemns it and I believe and teach the Bible, so, I am completely against the practice of homosexuality and/or lesbianism”, Prof. Macaulay stressed.

He explained that the House of Rainbow had hired UBU’s auditorium like any other Christian group that rent the hall whenever they have need of it, saying that the institution had nothing to do with the homosexual church as reported in the media. “SARRMAC Auditorium hired by House of Rainbow for its second year anniversary, September 6 and 7 respectively is a commercial hall normally rented out to the public for occasions and not a regular place of worship for House of Rainbow as reported in some newspapers.

It has been in commercial use since the year 2000 and has been used by Christian churches and individuals for marriages, training seminars, prayer retreats. Some of the organisations and individuals that had used this place are numerous. Photocopies of receipts issued for the use of the hall in the past are here for you to see. 36/38, Yakoyo Road , Ojodu, Lagos is neither the headquarters of House of Rainbow nor a regular place of its worship. United Bible University is not a church. It has no church. It does not belong to any church or denomination. It is a non-denominational theological institute in Nigeria. It is biblical and spiritual in nature”.

House of Rainbow, he stated, paid N20, 000 for the use of the hall for two days, adding that he was away on a tour of theological institutes in Imo and Akwa Ibom states when the hall was used for the anniversary event by House of Rainbow under his permission. He also explained that the invitation sent to him by his son, Rowland, was for the anniversary of his church.

“It is my pleasure to inform you that I am not just a Christian leader and a Nigerian, I am a law-abiding citizen. I have served this nation in many different areas without any blemish. I tested the first car ever assembled by Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and gave appraisal of its quality and reliability. I am a Christian and Christian leader and teacher without manipulating the Bible, teaching heresy or supporting any human doctrines”, Prof. Macaulay said.

When asked if he knew the church was for gay before allowing them use the hall, he said, “I did not know it was a church of gay. If I knew that is was a church of homosexuals, I wouldn’t have allowed it. I had impression that the church preaches Christ and that is what my son tells me every time. I tell him, ‘preach Christ, evangelise and bring people to your church’.

And he said, ‘Daddy, that is what I am doing.’ So, I believed that that was what he was doing until when the report came out. I confirm it here that House of Rainbow is a church of homosexuals.

When I came back from my tour of Imo and Akwa Ibom, I read all the newspapers that reported the case. I believe that God wants to do something very drastic. I strongly believe that this open report may affect me personally. I invited you the press to tell you my own side of the story, especially concerning myself and the university.

The university has nothing to do with the House of Rainbow and I, as a father too, has nothing to do with House of Rainbow. But as I mentioned in my report, I relate with my son and not with the church he controls. It is important for a father to do that”.

Asked about Rowland’s mother, Prof. Macaulay said, “The mother? Hmm. I think you want to send her to heaven very early. I mean, the mother is in London. I wish you could understand what my family is going through. The elder brother told me that he will never talk to him. I still have that problem to solve. It is a very serious thing. It is not something we can take lightly as we are talking now”.
He affirmed that the plaque mentioned in the various reports in the newspapers as displayed in the main hall of the university displays the appreciation awards offered to people who contributed to the growth of Christian Soul-Winners Worldwide from 1980 to 1994.

He explained that those mentioned in the media reports as listed in the plaque are aged or have even died, saying that Mrs. O. A. Adeboye who won the best award is now over 90 years old while Mr. A. O. Oduwole died over four years ago.

According to him, he got to know that his 43-year-old son, Rowland, is homosexual in 2003. But reports say Rowland has been gay since he was 14. Describing how he got to know of it he said: “I knew he was gay. I mean, being a gay does not mean you pastor a church of homosexuals. Being a prostitute doesn’t mean you should pastor a church of prostitutes. I think, as a pastor, you should pastor a church of God.

I got to know about my son being a gay in 2003 when I went to London. I went in to his room and I found some books that looked funny to me and I called his brothers and sisters, reported it to them. They knew about it before I knew but they were all afraid to tell me. But eventually I got to know.”

On steps he took when he got to know, Macaulay said, “I rebuked him as a father. I did not talk to him for about a month while I was in London. But when I considered that I will lose him to Satan if I allowed him to go, I called him back and ever since that time, I’ve been talking to him. Each time I see him, I talk and pray with him and I believe that one day he will be straight in his life.

As far as I am concerned, that is the only fault that I see in him. I want you to realise this, that since 2003 this thing has turned my family upside down. And I have never been a very very happy father ever since. I’ve been praying and counseling him. I believe strongly that, one day, God will touch him and he will change.”

Asked if his son’s background born in London and his upbringing has any relationship with Rowland’s gay disposition, Prof. Macaulay said, “That is a very good question. If I have five children and I trained them, and my first son is a chartered accountant with Cambridge University, and he doesn’t misbehave, and the third one is an engineer in London and he doesn’t misbehave, why do you want to blame me for just one person that is influenced? One person that is influenced by the Western world; that allowed all these things.”

He however said he had no regret allowing the use of UBU hall by the gay church. “I do not regret allowing House of Rainbow use this place for its second anniversary because I did it with clean mind. I do not support House of Rainbow as a church of homosexuals. I had the impression that House of Rainbow is a church for all people.”

Prof. Macaulay, while responding to a question on whether he had seen his gay son since he returned to Lagos, said, “That is a sad and difficult thing for a father to say. I have not seen my son. It is very embarrassing to me since the reports. I have not seen him and he has not called me.”

On whether his son is married, he simply said, “Rowland is my son and he has a 16-year-old son, who is in London. He got married. His son’s name is Tosin Macaulay. Believe me, it was in 2003 that I got to know this thing and you can see how frustrating that can be.” Macaulay, however, remained resolute, saying, “As far as United Bible University is concerned it would not lose its focus in achieving its God-ordained objectives.”

Rowland would appear close to his father as shown in this message to the father at 70:

“For me, Rowland, you are the best of friends, honest and outright youthful. All my life you challenged me and gave me confidence in many areas of my life. We continue to have fun with life. I remember 2002, when we co-hosted Friends in Harmony from South Africa when they toured Nigeria. You trained me in many disciplines to be a good boy, an obedient servant of God. You trained me and gave me the skill to be a good father.

“The reflection shows in your grand son, Tosin who also wishes you all the best love for this happy occasion. He tells me that he still wants to play football with you. Both of us remember spending time with you on a ministerial trip to Wales, we watch you do what you love doing, preaching, teaching and chatting with people.

Our lives together have been a great blessing and we are too happy to wish you well for your 70th birthday. What more can we say about our grandfather and father; many words describe you, friendly, jovial, humorous, serious, focused, great achiever, blessed, honoured, precious, youthful, lovely, lovely and many more. More love, more power.

Bravo, Rev Macaulay

Nigeria: Homosexuality is Totally Unacceptable - Clerics

Posted to the web 13 October 2008

Sam Eyoboka

EMINENT Nigerian Christian clerics have continued to comment on the controversial House of Rainbow, purportedly a church organisation piloted by a self-confessed homosexual, Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay.

The church is described as the first sponsored attempt by any Nigerian cleric to openly counter efforts of Most Rev. Peter Jasper Akinola, Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), who had led other Anglicans to vehemently oppose the ordination of Gene Robinson, an openly confessed gay bishop, in November 2003.

Akinola, as the bishop of Abuja, is the current Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is the chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa and chairman of the South-South Encounter of the Anglican Communion which has continued to insist on Bible principles and the teachings of the apostles (apostolic tradition) in a particular way.

As one of the leaders of the Global South within the Anglican Communion, Akinola has taken a firm stand against theological developments which he contends are incompatible with the biblical teachings of Christianity, notably setting himself against any revisionist or liberal interpretations of the Bible and, in particular, opposing same-sex blessings, the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals or, indeed, any homosexual practice.

He is the leader of some conservatives throughout the Anglican Communion including the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. One of his first actions as primate was to get together 400 bishops, priests, lay members, and members of the Mother's Union to elaborate a vision for the Church of Nigeria under the chairmanship of Chief Ernest Shonekan.

At the end of deliberations, they articulated a vision for the church, which include: "The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) shall be bible-based, spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism, social welfare and a Church that epitomizes the genuine love of Christ."

Based on that vision, Akinola has been in the forefront of the fight against the weird intrusion of homosexuality into the Christian faith. Just like most parts of the world were shocked with that ordination, Akinola has earned accolades from around the world for his doggedness in condemning the practice; at one point threatening to lead other African countries out of the Anglican fold if the practice of gay ordination continued.

Time Magazine named him among the 100 most influential persons in the world. So when, Rev. Macaulay appeared in the scene with a gay church in Nigeria, many Nigerians who had thrown their weight behind Akinola saw the move as a sponsored plot by the ECUSA to undermine the efforts of the Nigerian primate who recently led Conservative Anglicans to hold a global gathering to affirm their orthodox Christian roots in Jerusalem.

Participants of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) gathered in the Israeli city just one month before the once a decade Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Church. Speaking in an interview, the national president of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, urged all Nigerians to rise up against any such ungodly practice in any part of the country, because it is an attempt by some pervert minds in the country who are being sponsored from other climes to undermine the enviable gains made so far by our Anglican brother, Primate Peter Akinola.

Describing the current action of some individuals in the Christendom in the country as deplorable the PFN helmsman said, "It (gay church) is totally unacceptable in any part of the country. It is coming from the very bottom of the pit of hell and there is no way we can accept everything from the West, hook, line and sinker.

Our people must grow up and shun some of these ungodly practices from the West because the resultant effect will not be palatable to any one of us, whether Christian or not. It is obvious that the devil is trying to neutralise the gains our brother in the Anglican Church, Primate Peter Akinola, had made since the controversial ordination of a gay bishop in the US in 2003."

According to him, there is every indication that those in the Anglican fold who are not happy with the position of the Nigerian primate may be behind these latest moves to establish a gay church in Nigeria in order to undermine the rising profile of Archbishop Akinola.

Prof Macauley, the gay pastor, Roland Babajide Macauley's father

That is how the devil works. He will do everything possible to break the ranks of the Conservative Anglicans who have taken as stand to defend the Holy Scriptures and weaken the authority of the Nigerian primate. For quite a while now when the Pentecostal Movement had gained a lot of ground here and since the gay controversy broke in 2003, Nigeria has suddenly become a very strong ground for the spread of the gospel, and definitely the devil would not be happy with such a development."

Explaining that there are two dimensions to the issue, he maintained that there is the spiritual dimension as well as the human dimension, stressing "As a nation we have quite a load of challenges to tackle and we cannot afford to add homosexuality to that long list. For us to understand the mind of God, we need to go to the very basics in the Book of Genesis.

Before He created Man, He said let us make man in our own image. He then made Man and said it is not good for man to be alone and He went ahead to create a help meet for him, the woman. To understand the mind of God therefore is to say that He did not create two men but instead He created Man and woman so that they can procreate. If God wanted, He could have created Adam and Steve, but in His unequaled wisdom, He created Adam and Eve," Oritsejafor further argued.

According to him, those canvassing homosexuality today, were brought into the world by women who travailed for nine months or more before bringing them forth, so why will any man in his right senses now think they can do without the natural order of God. Stating that Nigeria can do without such perverts who can drag us back in our current developmental process, he added that the people of this country should rise up and challenge any appearance of such evil, stressing that it is even uncultural for an African man to sleep with a man.

"From some of the reports, I have read so far, I hear that the so called Rev. Macaulay even has a 16-year-old son. How did he get that son? Is it from a fellow man-wife? It is most unfortunate that our people, in their inordinate quest for wealth, resort to several anti-social practices," Pastor Oritsejafor said.

Also speaking recently at a thanksgiving service organised by the Delta State government in Warri, the state chairman of CAN, Archbishop Goddowell Avwomaka, condemned the reported presence of gay church in the country, saying that every Nigerian has a responsibility to pray against any such appearance of evil in any part of the country.

The CAN chairman, who was asked to lead the congregation to pray for peace of the country, lamented what he described as the infiltration of satanic practices, adding that such can only be seen as signs of the end times.

I am Greedy!

Some not realy news, from Uganda; picked up from the Monitor

Homosexuality blamed on greed

Fred Muzaale

Kayunga

Mukono Diocese Bishop Eria Paul Luzinda has blamed the increasing gay relationships in the country on greed for money. Bishop Luzinda made the remarks on Sunday while blessing candidates of Kanjuki SSS in Kayunga District during a visit to the school. He commissioned a Shs45m laboratory block at the same function.

“Many Ugandans today think that money is everything and are ready to do anything be it immoral, to get it,” Bishop Luzinda said. “Because of their greed for money our people have taken on immoral acts like homosexuality and lesbianism.”

He said many Western and European countries are taking advantage of wealth to spread their immoral acts allover the world. “The youth are the main target of these acts but I want to advise you not to be enticed into such acts because they will ruin your life,” he said.

Bishop Luzinda urged school authorities in the diocese to be watchful of gay acts saying if they are allowed to infiltrate their schools the country would not have upright leaders of tomorrow.

A Very, Very Brave Priest.

But then, he is gay. When one embraces his or her sexuality, bravery has to be somewhere in that equation.

Stand against Prop. 8 costs priest dearly

Father Geoffrey Farrow is removed from his Fresno post after a sermon against the anti-same-sex marriage measure.

By Duke Helfand and Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

October 13, 2008

A week ago, Father Geoffrey Farrow stood before his Roman Catholic parishioners in Fresno and delivered a sermon that placed him squarely at odds with his church over gay marriage.

With Proposition 8 on the November ballot, and his own bishop urging Central Valley priests to support its definition of traditional marriage, Farrow told congregants he felt obligated to break "a numbing silence" about church prejudice against homosexuals.

"How is marriage protected by intimidating gay and lesbian people into loveless and lonely lives?" he asked parishioners of the St. Paul Newman Center. "I am morally compelled to vote no on Proposition 8."

Then Farrow -- who had revealed that he was gay during a television interview immediately before Mass -- added a coda to his sermon.

"I know these words of truth will cost me dearly," he said. "But to withhold them . . . I would become an accomplice to a moral evil that strips gay and lesbian people not only of their civil rights but of their human dignity as well."

On Thursday, Fresno Bishop John T. Steinbock removed Farrow, 50, as pastor of the St. Paul Newman Center, which primarily serves students and faculty at Cal State Fresno.

"Your statement contradicted the teaching of the Catholic Church and has brought scandal to your parish community as well as the whole Church," Steinbock wrote in a disciplinary letter that also admonished Farrow against "using the Internet as a means of continuing your conflict with the Church's teaching."

The priest also was stripped of his salary and benefits, and ordered to stay away from all church communities he had served.

Farrow's comments at the end of the Oct. 5 Mass have left his congregation bitterly divided.

On Sunday, some parishioners praised Farrow's courage for defending the rights of gays and lesbians, while others condemned him for challenging church doctrine without giving warning.

"It upsets me that we are allowing a ballot proposition to come into our church and divide us," said Teresa Huerta, who teaches at Cal State Fresno. "We are going through changes right now in society and the church needs to recognize that."

Frank Gallegos, a parishioner for 24 years, said he was dismayed that Farrow used the pulpit to deliver his message.

"He ambushed us," Gallegos, 44, said while leaving the white concrete-block church with his wife and two children. "I don't wish him ill. I just wish he hadn't done it during Mass."

Parish leaders concluded two morning Masses on Sunday with an apology to parishioners.

Farrow's statements, they said, were not in accord with church teachings. Also, the priest did not inform church elders about his plans before delivering his sermon, said Deacon John Supino, who read a letter from Steinbock reaffirming the Catholic Church's support for Proposition 8.

Quoting Steinbock, Supino said the church teaches that sex is a gift from God to be acted on only by a man and a woman within marriage. But Proposition 8, he insisted, does not represent a condemnation of gays or lesbians.

"The teachings of the church on these matters did not arise with Proposition 8 but have been in place for over 2,000 years," Supino said.

Several parishioners inside the church applauded when Supino finished Steinbock's statement. A few rose and left as he was reading it.

Katherine Allison, 46, hurried out of the church at the end of the 11 a.m. Mass with her 14-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. She said she didn't want to stay to hear the bishop's letter.

Allison said her entire family liked Father Geoff, as he was known. He taught a Bible history class Tuesday nights and seemed to be passionate about his work, she said.

"There is nothing to apologize for," she said. "God tells us to speak the truth, and that's what he did."

Farrow became a priest 23 years ago, working in parishes in Visalia, Merced, Bakersfield and the nearby town of Arvin. A graduate of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, he also served as a chaplain in the Air Force Reserve at Edwards Air Force Base near Palmdale in the early 1990s.

Farrow, who said he realized that he was gay in boyhood, revealed his sexual orientation only to close friends and family. He told his parents just four years ago.

"This was the secret I was going to take to my grave," he said.

That changed when he received a June 30 "pastoral letter" from Steinbock's office in which the bishop condemned the California Supreme Court's ruling in May that legalized same-sex marriage, and supported the passage of Proposition 8, calling marriage between a man and woman the "foundation blocks for society." He compared the court's action to efforts by Nazi Germany and the Communist regimes in Russia and China to alter family arrangements.

"Let us pray for our Christian marriages and our Christian families, and for our children who will be subjected to brainwashing in our public school system regarding this matter," he wrote.

Steinbock's letter threw Farrow into a moral quandary, he said, and prompted his sermon.

"At what point do you cease to be an agent for healing and growth and become an accomplice of injustice?" he asked.

Farrow said he knew his comments would generate an uproar. He started to pack up his office the night before his address. He cleared his belongings from the church rectory within hours of greeting parishioners after church services. He left town so quickly that he was unable to find one of his two cats.

He drove to Los Angeles, where he is staying with friends. Farrow sent Steinbock a letter last week saying that he would resume his pastoral duties unless he heard otherwise.

But in his disciplinary letter, Steinbock said Farrow had abandoned his assignment without offering to discuss the issues. Steinbock said he had no choice but to suspend Farrow, and he hinted that other penalties could follow, including defrocking him. Steinbock did not return calls.

To a friend far away... who loves poetry

With real Poetry, the words rarely are plain,

but a blend of colours,

the favored palate unique for each poet, poetess;

yet its more than the plain words that touch-

more; spirit thread, soul essence:

a weave of mind, spirit, and soul,

subtly, or overtly expressive

over and above the words I see;

They are the trellis, the skeleton to uphold,

yet more, they now are an entity-

spirit and soul inseparable;

layers in layers of meaning-

meaning buried in meaning,

a whorled fruit, the leaves to unwrap

revealing more depths, meanings

with each fragile layer touched.

©GayUganda 13 Oct. 08

Separate but Equal is not OK

A contrast to the last post, here is a court, a civil court upholding the principle that 'Separate but Equal is not OK'

I dont know a lot of history, but I know that that principle was used a lot to justify segregation in the South of the US. Separate, but equal.

And, in Apartheid South Africa, that was the rallying call. The races could be 'separate but equal'.

In the previous post, a christian in Uganda argues about how sinful my relationship is. My relationship with my lover, my partner of 7 years. He will not countenance that we love one another, me and my partner. And, well, many christians will continue seeing my love as a pervesion.

But a court of law in Connecticut, a state of the US has declined to agree that a relationship like mine, is very different from marriage. Just because I am homosexual. Just because I and my lover are gay.

Kudos to the judges on the Connecticut bench. I may be very far off in Uganda, but I am encouraged. It will not stop the gay bashing in Uganda, the hate speech, and the demonising, but it is something to look forwards to. That, ultimately, the assertion that we are also human is something which the beliefs of some will not hold back. Because we are human. We deserve to be treated as humans.

Kudos to gay people in Connecticut. You have fought a good fight, you have won, Good for you.

Court makes Conn. 3rd state to allow gay marriage

By DAVE COLLINS |Associated Press Writer

October 10, 2008

HARTFORD, Conn. - The idea that civil unions could be a satisfying but less contentious substitute to gay marriage was knocked down Friday by Connecticut's Supreme Court.

There is no substitute, the justices ruled 4-3 as they made the state the nation's third to allow same-sex weddings.

The ruling might not have been as earthshaking as the one in Massachusetts that allowed gay marriage for the first time in the U.S., or the one in California that made it legal on the other side of the country and in the nation's most populous state. But it cut into the view that there is some solid middle ground on an issue that has inflamed passions on both sides.

"It's another court saying that separate but equal is not OK," said Edward Stein, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City. "As state courts start to say this ... gradually, over time, there might be a consensus that emerges."

Against my Relationship

I had decided to desist from posting, for some personal reasons. But there is one thing that does make me post. A consistent, and sure energizer. When people in Uganda use their positions to hit out at me as a homosexual, I do post.

Now, I live in a homosexual relationship. We have been together for more than 7 years, me and my lover. I love him. He loves me. I know and believe that.

In the Sunday Vision, in the Faith section, there is a long article from Joash Mayanja Nkangi, where the old venerable gentleman, former minister of Justice and a host of other things, and an influential man in the country assails my relationship with my lover.

Saw the article yesterday. Didnt like the heading. Didnt even read it. Thought of posting it here. Desisted.

Today, I have just finished making love with my lover. Sated, happy, content, I cannot help the devil rising up in me to thumb my nose at the gentleman.

I love my love, and my love loves me.

Here is a gentleman who uses his high learning, and his bible, to prove to me how sinful my love is. Somehow, for some reason, I am not convinced. But, here is his thinking.

Homosexual marriages are not holy

Mayanja-Nkangi

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

The media has it that a top Anglican theologian has concluded that, “an active sexual relationship between two people of the same-sex might… reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if it has the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness...” (The New Vision, August 8, 2008).

Astonishingly, the theologian believes that, “parts of the Bible relating to homosexuality were addressed to heterosexuals looking for sexual variety in their experience”, rather than “to gay people in a relationship”. But this conclusion is spiritually flawed and untenable.

First of all, the theologian’s conclusion lacks scriptural validity. God addressed Himself to all the Israelites and not to heterosexuals only. Leviticus 18:22 says: “Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abhorrence.” Of course “lie with” is a euphemism for “have sex with”. Thus Moses spoke to all the people of Israel who were capable of behaving in the prohibited manner. This referred to all the men of Israel, including the future “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16) i.e. today’s Christians. This prohibition was concerning human sexuality for all time. Contextually all Israelites were to shun the abhorrent “practices” of the Egyptians (Leviticus 18:27) and these constituted homosexuality. The essence of the command was (is) not, in the mode or technique of effecting the sexual act but in the nature of the act, and the individuals involved.

A male was not to have sexual relations with another male. The caution, “Do not lie with a male” can mean: “Stop lying with a male... now”, or at anytime in future.” The prohibition was directed to any homosexual Israelites at the time and thereafter, and not only to the heterosexuals.

Secondly, it would have been inconceivable for God to prohibit homosexual behaviour by “heterosexuals”, as the theologian maintains, and yet exempt the real culprits, the homosexuals. Homosexuality (the practice of Egyptians) was abhorrent to God, regardless of who engaged in it, whether it was the heterosexuals “looking for sexual variety in their sexual experience” as the theologian claims, or the homosexuals. Christians must be on their guard, lest they succumb to sin due to theological sophistry.

The Egyptians must have been both heterosexual (or else no children would be born) and homosexual. God could not have found their heterosexuality detestable, for He Himself had instituted and blessed it at creation. (Genesis 1:26-27). So it was the homosexuality that irked Him. The Israelites were not to copy this vile Egyptian practice.

The objective of homosexual behaviour, as that of heterosexuality, is having sex with someone. For a heterosexual Israelite to engage in a homosexual relation would be to commit adultery, which God had already prohibited at Mount Sinai: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). The Decalogue, however, did not tackle homosexuality hence the new commandment in Leviticus. The theologian, therefore, is wrong to maintain that God only was only concerned with the heterosexual Israelites who craved homosexual extra-marital relations and not “gay people who were in a relationship”, however stable it was.

Other Biblical texts which condemn homosexuality are no less specific or non-discriminatory as between homosexuals and heterosexuals: For example Romans 1:26-27: “...God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”

1 Corinthians 6:9 is no less condemnatory: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the immoral nor idolators nor sexual perverts will inherit the kingdom of God.”

As argued above, the parties to the prohibited sexual relationship are important, apart from the relationship itself. For when the Lord Jesus was asked by the Jews about the “lawful” conditions for divorcing one’s wife, He referred them to the Creator’s design for human sexuality, and in so doing highlighted the crucial centrality of gender in permissible sexual relationships, as follows: “Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female... for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife... what therefore, God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:3-6). Thus Christ put His seal on the “male and female” marriage relationship as being the only one acceptable to God, and never between a male and another male, or a female and another female.

The authority of the Lord’s word abides forever (Mark 13:31). Therefore, anyone who calls him or herself a “Christian” must heed this, and never ignore, reject, or compromise what Christ prescribed. May the Lord, therefore, guard His Flock against “shameful lusts” (Romans 1:26). “You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord. Your God,” commands the Lord in Leviticus 18:4.

Christians enjoy God’s gift of sexuality and marital bliss within the degrees of freedom as prescribed by Him. Marital relationships outside these limits are abhorrent to God and sinful. Sin being lawlessness or breach of God’s commandment ( l John 3:4), marital same-sex relationships contravene God’s express command and are, therefore, sinful.

Same-sex relationships may be enjoyable for those who indulge in them, but so was Eve’s (fruit) of the forbidden tree, for it “was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Genesis 3:6). Nevertheless, these apparent benefits did not turn the eating of the fruit into righteousness, nor prevent man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

St. John warns against the seductive “lust of the flesh and the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:6). The current theological ambivalence about the sanctity of same-sex marital relationships is an ill wind that blows no Christian any good. It is hurting Christ’s flock. Christians must vigilantly resist Satan’s mortal tricks at every turn.

Gay relationships are sinful

- The avoidance of same-sex relationships is God’s command and its contravention is lawless and sinful.

- An active sexual relationship between two people of the same-sex, even if “it had about it the same covenanted faithfulness” of the heterosexual relationships, is abhorrent to God.

- This venerated ‘covenanted faithfulness’ is nothing, but a continuous breach of God’s commandment against such unions; a continuing wallowing in sinful rebellion against God.

- The stability of homosexual marriages cannot convert the sin into righteousness but only aggravates it. Sin cannot reflect God’s covenant love, which is holy, any more than can dirt reflect a detergent. The two are qualitatively different. Sin only reflects itself.

- “What partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all”. (1 John 1:5).

- God’s love is constituted by obedience to his word and commandments (1 John 5:3). Consequently, same-sex covenants of carnal love, which are contracted in disregard of God’s command for human sexuality, can never reflect God’s covenant love for His people. The latter is pure and divine; the former is impure and sinful.

- The stability of such relationships attracts St. Paul’s incisive question: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1). “By no means!”

- Redemptive grace is available to and for him or her who cries out to God in repentance for forgiveness: This is the message of the Cross. But persistence in rebellion is of no avail.

- The writer is a concerned Christian

Published on: Saturday, 11th October, 2008

Talk of using the bible to bash gay people!

Deserves to be here

I rant a lot about Christians hating me as a gay man. Some christians, that is.

Fact is, some do ask themselves why I am such a ranting, raving lunatic. But, for those of you who are different, we have the Ssempa's and the Nsaba-Buturos, and this gentleman here, whose hatred is so fierce it is lunatic.

PS, I may not be posting for a while. For one reason or another, but surely I will come back. Now, have some fun reading this article.

No, this is not all christians. This is some christians.

gug

Clergyman apologises over call to tattoo gay people

A Church of England clergyman who wrote that gay men should be forced to have "sodomy" warnings tattooed on their bodies issued a "full and complete" apology for his remarks today.

The Rev Peter Mullen said his remarks were "injudicious" and had caused offence.

"I did not intend to cause any upset but I realise that the remarks were injudicious and I have caused offence. I want to issue an apology," he said.

In a statement, he said: "I did not intend to cause offence when I made some joking remarks about homosexuals.

"I was not actually meaning to criticise individual homosexual persons, but the promoters of gay culture.

"However, my remarks have caused offence and for this I am sorry and make a full and complete apology."

Mr Mullen, 66, who is rector of St Michael's, Cornhill, and St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London, made the comments about homosexual practices on his internet blog.

He wrote: "It is time that religious believers began to recommend... discouragements of homosexual practices after the style of warnings on cigarette packets.

"Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH and their chins with FELLATIO KILLS."

In the same blog, Mr Mullen called for all gay pride parades, which he branded "obscene", to be outlawed.

He also condemned, in the form of a poem, the blessing of two gay priests at a "wedding" performed earlier this year in a City of London church.

The comments by Mr Mullen on his blog have been removed after talks with officials at the Diocese of London.