Leaders of 2 agencies decry laws targeting gays

Translate Page

Leaders of the two United Methodist general agencies — the Board of Global Ministries and the Board of Church and Society — have issued statements critical of countries enacting laws that target homosexuals. 

“This kind of legislation predictably is leading to increased marginalization, harassment, and exploitation in our global civil society,” said Global Ministries’ statement issued by Raleigh (N.C.) Area Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, the agency board’s president, and Thomas Kemper, its top executive, on Feb. 28.

“Whatever our understanding of sexual orientation, the criminalization of homosexuality is not compatible with the United Methodist Social Principles including the one that states that basic rights and civil liberties are `due all persons … regardless of sexual orientation.’” 

The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries is the denomination’s mission agency. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, which advocates for the denomination’s Social Principles, issued a similar statement.

“Legislation that denies the human rights of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender is being deliberated and enacted in states of the United States and countries around the world,” the agency’s board said. “Such legislative actions that discriminate, abuse and commit violence against persons on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression violate human rights and should be condemned. Religious and cultural traditions do not excuse any form of discrimination, abuse and violence.”

The United Methodist since 1972, officially has held that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. The denomination does not allow the ordination of homosexuals as clergy. Under church law, clergy are not allowed to officiate at same-sex unions and churches are not allowed to host such ceremonies.

Kemper and Ward said the denomination also has “a strong insistence on the fundamental rights and sacred worth of all people in all places,” and called on United Methodists to advocate for “full human and civil rights in their respective countries and on the international level,” and to pray for victims of repression.

The statement by Ward and Kemper specifically mentioned Uganda, Nigeria, Russia and India.

Legislation signed in Uganda

The president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, signed legislation Feb. 24 that would impose sentences of up to life imprisonment for those convicted of engaging in homosexual acts. 

President Obama spoke against the measure, and Museveni’s decision to sign it prompted a boycott of financial aid to Uganda by the World Bank, Norway and Denmark, according to news reports.

Uganda is not alone among African nations in criminalizing homosexuality. Amnesty International reports that 38 countries on the continent have laws against homosexual acts.  

Nigerian President Goodluck Johnson recently signed a measure passed by his country’s parliament, outlawing same-sex marriage and civil unions, with convicted offenders at risk of lengthy prison terms. The law also bans clubs, societies or meetings of homosexuals, again with the threat of incarceration.

Russia now has a law against what it terms as the distribution of homosexual propaganda to minors, and, in December, India’s high court upheld a colonial-era law banning homosexual acts.

The Global Ministries’ leaders’ statement described a “concerning trend” in legislation targeting homosexuals.

Uganda bishop raises other pressing issues

Meanwhile, Bishop Daniel Wandabula, leader of the East Africa Episcopal Area including Uganda issued his own statement complaining of an imbalance of attention to issues.

“For instance, so many women and children have suffered rape, so many displaced, so many have lost their lives and so many are starving in refugee camps and yet almost all the emails in my inbox this week are focused on a single issue namely, the plight of the homosexual community.” Wandabula wrote March 1. “Painful as it is, this issue is leaving so many, equally important issues in the shadows.”

Wandabula’s statement did not address the Uganda law specifically but did call for unity and reconciliation.

“No matter how we understand the issue of homosexuality, God calls us to love all of God’s people,” he said. “We cannot claim to be Christians if we harm others by our words or actions, regardless of how they perceive the issue.”

Letter to African bishops

Los Angeles Area Bishop Minerva Carcaño released last week a letter she wrote to retired and active African bishops of the United Methodist Church.

Carcaño, who favors changing the restrictive positions on homosexuality in United Methodist Church law, said news of Uganda’s law prompted her to write her African colleagues.       

“I beg you to act in behalf of those whom Jesus also considers his beloved,” Carcaño wrote. “I do not ask you to stand in support of homosexuality. I ask you to raise your voices against hatred and violence. At my end I pledge to do all I can to challenge U.S. forces that contribute to the fomenting of this hatred and violence in Africa.”

*Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

UMNEWS-SUBSCRIPTION
Global Health
Dr. Marie Claire Manafundu, who coordinates the church’s Maternal and Child Health Program in eastern Congo, talks with children outside of United Methodist Irambo Health Center in Bukavu, Congo. The United Methodist Church in East Congo offers food support to families affected by HIV and AIDS. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

Church gives hope to people living with HIV in Congo

With funding from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the church supports a program for more than 100 women living with HIV in the Kivu Conference.
Disaster Relief
Children walk among the destruction caused by massive flooding in the Bushushu village in Kalehe, Congo. More than 175 people, including 15 United Methodists, died after torrential rains overflowed the Chibira River in South Kivu. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

United Methodists killed in Congo flooding

Over 175 people, including 15 United Methodists, died after torrential rains overflowed the Chibira River in South Kivu. One church family lost 13 members.
Mission and Ministry
Murewa High School Headmaster Sydney Mapisaunga (left) and the Rev. Nyaradzai Matonga, chaplain at the Zimbabwe school, address students about the dangers of substance abuse. The United Methodist school ramped up efforts to raise awareness about the growing problem after several students were expelled for using drugs. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

United Methodists join fight against drug abuse

The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe is helping raise awareness about the harms of drug and substance abuse and the importance of rehabilitation.

 

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2023 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved