   |
|
afrol News, 22 January - Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Southern Africa believes it is time to "urgently" address the issue of homosexuality among the region's 10 million baptized Anglicans. This should be done in a manner that will generate mutual understanding and bring people out of their "corners of conviction," the Archbishop says. According to the London-based Anglican Communion Office, Archbishop Ndungane has circulated an eight-page discussion document on human sexuality. This was being sent to bishops, clergy, parishes, theological colleges and Anglican organisations in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and St Helena. Mr Ndungane's step follows a resolution adopted at the recent Anglican synod, which noted "the pastoral needs" of the sexual minority. The synod gave thanks for the role played by gay and lesbian members within the church and urged that they be "affirmed and welcomed." The bishops were asked to designate task groups to address relevant practical pastoral issues, including same sex unions. Gay and lesbian members had been urged to participate in the proceedings. The Anglicans, led by the Church of England, had long been marked by their conservative positions in matters of sexual minorities, but this has radically changed during the last five years. The change has not been without conflict, however, and in Australia, the view on homosexuality is threatening to split the Anglican Communion. It is against this that Mr Ndungane's document warns that, besides threatening the unity of the Anglican Communion, the matter of homosexuality is causing deep pain on both sides of the debate. "People are hurting as they continue to feel rejected, despised, misunderstood, demonised and 'unchurched' because of their orientation and their convictions. For reasons of compassion and care for each other in the Body of Christ, we have no option but to engage and to seek better understanding," the text says. Furthermore, the document states that others are hurting because they believe that central Gospel demands are being compromised and need to be protected, defended and witnessed to. "They believe that somehow the Faith is at stake. Our zeal for the truth of the Gospel and the leading of the Spirit constrains us." The first step was to first find common foundations, the Archbishop held. "We are all committed to seeking God's truth and respect the authority of the Scriptures, the disagreement only emerges when we try to understand and articulate the nature of this authority. There is also common ground in our belief that human sexuality is a gift from God but that promiscuity, predatory sexual behaviour, paedophilia and pornography are sinful. We all believe in moral standards and that all humans are loved by God and that we are called to love our neighbour." Addressing the evolving interpretation of the Scriptures the discussion document lists several examples such as slavery, the status of women, remarriage after divorce and the lending of money at interest, where the Church at earlier crossroads had come to understand God's teaching in a different way. "This," said the Archbishop, "Is not an issue that will go away, we must not only talk to each other but be prepared to listen as well." Mr Ndungane is not the first Anglican Archbishop of Southern Africa to state liberal views on homosexuality. In 1996, South Africa Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote the foreword to a collection of Christian liturgies for homosexuals. The bishop there warned that rejecting homosexuals is "nearly the ultimate blasphemy" and he spoke out against Christians who "demand that homosexuals remain celibate." At that time, Archbishop Tutu was heavily criticised by his Anglican colleagues in Europe and North America. At this stage, the Southern African Archbishop is less out of touch with his colleagues overseas than with the governments of the region. Within his communion, homosexual acts are only legal in South Africa and St Helena. In Lesotho and Namibia, there are no laws regulating homosexuality but government has stated its disapproval. In Swaziland, Mozambique and Angola, homosexual acts are explicitly forbidden by the law. Sources: Based on Anglican Communion Office and afrol archives
|
