Archbishop of Uganda Responds to Archbishop of Canterbury on Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023

The Archbishop of Uganda has responded to this statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury, released yesterday –

“The Most Rev Dr Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, released the following statement in response to the public letter to him from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop Justin Welby, the Primate of All England, has every right to form his opinions about matters around the world that he knows little about firsthand, and that is what he has done in his recent statement about the Church of Uganda’s widely held support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023. Our support has been made very clear by our earlier statement, so it does not require repeating.

He and many other Western leaders seem to think that the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 criminalizes homosexuality. It does not. Homosexuality was already criminalized; it simply reaffirms what was already in the colonial-era penal code, including a maximum sentence of the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality (which the Church of Uganda opposed).

Even if the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 was not signed into law, homosexuality would remain criminalized in Uganda, as it is in more than one-third of the world’s countries. Even if the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 is overturned by the Supreme Court, homosexuality will remain criminalized in Uganda. What is new is specifically outlawing the promotion of homosexuality and same-sex relationships as a moral alternative to God’s natural design for marriage between one man and one woman.

We wonder if Archbishop Justin Welby has written to encourage the Anglican Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf to publicly advocate for decriminalizing homosexuality in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East? Why are African countries like Ghana and Uganda singled out for such virtue signaling?

Sadly, as we stated – together with leaders of 85% of the Anglican Communion – in the Kigali Commitment of Gafcon IV in April 2023, we “can no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion, the ‘first among equals’ of the Primates. The Church of England has chosen to impair her relationship with the orthodox provinces in the Communion.” We do pray for him and other leaders in the Church of England to repent.

The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu
ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA.”

Photos: Archbishop of Canterbury and Church of Uganda websites.

Church of England Evangelical Council holds ‘resistance’ meetings over same-sex blessings

“The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) is planning to hold ‘large-scale meetings’ in June, but only for those who have signed up to “resist” moves to bless same-sex couples in church. …

The invitation says that the meetings — at All Souls’, Langham Place, in London, on 17 June, and at Holy Trinity, Platt, in Manchester, on 19 June — are ‘being held in order to take counsel together regarding the proposals around the Prayers of Love and Faith, and to hear the wisdom of voices from around the Anglican Communion’. …”

– Story from Church Times. (Link via Anglican Mainstream.)

Government Takeover Scandal

In her latest video, the Australian Christian Lobby’s Wendy Francis discusses the alarming takeover attempt of the Catholic Calvary Hospital in Canberra.

The Fall of Canterbury

“The Kigali Commitment recognizes that Archbishop Welby has abandoned his office and that Instruments of Communion have failed to uphold essential doctrine regarding human sexuality, thereby undermining their very purpose. Those signing the Commitment no longer recognize the authority of the existing Communion structures. The Commitment empowers GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches to establish new structures for orthodox Anglicans wherever they are. …”

– At First Things, Matt and Anne Kennedy share their thoughts on GAFCON IV.

Image: At GAFCON Jerusalem in 2018, Russell Powell (left) interviews the Kennedys. (Well worth watching.)

In the last 12 months 35% of Australian Ministers considered quitting

“A little under 200 clergy took part in the survey and, while they work across the country, they were predominantly in NSW, married and male, with an average of 18½ years in ministry. More than 60 per cent of the respondents were senior ministers…

A senior consultant at the Centre for Ministry Development, Peter Mayrick, who gets alongside clergy to support them in their ministry, says that the issues of stress and burnout are ‘very real… and something we have to deal with’. …”

– Story by Judy Adamson at SydneyAnglicans.net.

ACL 2023 Annual General Meeting reminder

For ACL members, a reminder:

The 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Anglican Church League, previously advised, is on Thursday 8th June, 6:00pm – 7:30pm.

Venue: St Andrew’s Cathedral School, 474 Kent Street, Sydney 2000 (enter via Foyer located on Sydney Square), Level 4, The Community Hub.

Speakers:

The agenda for the meeting, including positions to be filled by election, is available here (PDF).

If you need to renew your membership, you can do so at this link.

South Carolina Supreme Court issues final ruling on disputed churches

“Two of South Carolina’s oldest church buildings will not be returned to the Episcopal Church in the United States, but will stay with the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, a court has ruled. One other church will be returned to the Episcopal Diocese. …”

– Story from Church Times.

The photo of now-retired Bishop Mark Lawrence from 2010 gives an idea of how long this has been running. (Mostly) related posts.

In 2018 at GAFCON 3 in Jerusalem, Dominic Steele spoke with Dr Kendall Harmon about what was happening in South Carolina at the time. Starts 2:15 into this clip.

Calvary Health Care starts legal proceedings

“Lawyers for Calvary Health Care and the ACT Government will have a full day in the Supreme Court to argue over whether an injunction can be granted to hold up the compulsory acquisition of the public hospital in Bruce.

The head of the northside transition team isn’t worried this will hold up the process, which is slated to be finalised by 3 July. …”

– Report from Riotact, Canberra.

Highlights, insights, reflections and things I learned in Africa – Dominic Steele

Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart:

“In almost every personal conversation I’ve had since returning from Africa I’ve been asked about my personal reflections on the almost four weeks that Catherine and I spent there.

How was Gafcon? What was significant? What stood out? How has Africa impacted you?”

– Watch or listen here. Most encouraging.

“We are the Anglican Communion; we represent 85% of all church-going Anglicans” — Bishop Glenn Davies

“We have a de facto re-ordered Communion now. We are not leaving the Anglican Communion, but reforming it along Cranmerian lines, where the Scripture is supreme and obedience to Scripture is essential; we represent 85% of Anglicans worldwide and are moving forward. …”

– David Virtue at VirtueOnline has published an interview with Bishop Glenn Davies.

Photo: Bishop Davies speaks at GAFCON IV in Kigali.

Legislation passes allowing ACT government to move ahead with plans to take over Calvary Public Hospital

“The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed a controversial bill giving the government the power to take over Calvary Public Hospital in as little as 33 days. …”

– Report from ABC News.

See also:

Calvary forced into legal response to ACT Government’s legislation – Calvary, 30 May 2023.

Calvary to take legal action against ACT Government – Catholic Voice, 30 May 2023.

‘Favouring his mates’: Vicar reprimands PM over Calvary takeover – 2GB radio, 31 May 2023.

Image: Calvary.

Prime Minister supports Calvary compulsory takeover

“We now know that the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Anthony Albanese, as an elected representative of the country, supports the compulsory acquisition of Calvary Hospital. This acquisition is not being done according to the rule of law or on just terms.

Can anybody imagine the great Labor Prime Ministers, John Curtin, Ben Chifley, Bob Hawke, or Paul Keating, doing such a thing?What’s at stake here is not the Labor Party, not the Catholic church, but the rights of ordinary citizens to have proper land and property rights.”

– Catholic Voice.

See also:

Anthony Albanese backs Calvary Hospital takeover two days before laws set to pass – The Catholic Weekly,

“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed the ACT Government takeover of Calvary Public Hospital, just two days before legislation is likely to pass the ACT Legislative Assembly. …

Australian Medical Association ACT branch president, Dr Walter Abhayaratna, wrote in a recent letter to the ACT health minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, that the takeover sets a ‘terrible precedent’ and that senior doctors felt disrespected, shocked, dismayed and angry at the rapid takeover.

Legislation to compulsorily acquire the hospital and land was introduced into the ACT Legislative Assembly on 10 May, and will likely be passed by the Labor-Greens majority government this Wednesday, on 31 May.”

Albanese supports ACT Government on Calvary acquisition – CathNews.

Anthony Albanese intervenes to back ACT Govt on Calvary acquisition – Canberra Times (subscription).

Calvary on the cross – former Minister for Defence, Kevin Andrews, at Spectator Australia, 27 May 2023,

“The belief that this proposal is about abortion – and euthanasia, which the ACT plans to introduce – is well-founded. Is the next institution to be acquired Clare Holland House, the praised palliative care service also operated by Calvary?

This is not a Catholic issue, nor even a Christian one. If the ACT government can acquire a well-functioning, viable hospital that is providing first-rate healthcare to the populace, what else can it acquire? Independent schools? Clubs with pokies? Greyhound and horse racing tracks? The premises of organisations that oppose its political views? This is a dangerous precedent which should be resisted by everyone who values the freedoms and toleration that our polity is built upon.”

Earlier:

Catholic Archbishop ‘shocked and stunned’ at ACT’s proposed takeover of Calvary Hospital.

Sinicization of Christianity comes to Hong Kong

“Hong Kong is becoming just like any other Chinese city, and this is increasingly true for religion as well. In CCP jargon, ‘Sinicization’ of Christianity does not mean adapting churches to Chinese culture but making them subservient to the Party. …”

– Story at Anglican.ink.

“the beginning of the end of freedom of conscience in Australia”

“In this crucial episode, Wendy Francis, Acting CEO of ACL, exposes the alarming attempts by the ACT government to compulsory acquire Calvary Hospital. Freedom of conscience and faith is at risk, and we cannot ignore it.

If the government succeeds with Calvary Hospital, there is serious concern, shared by many, as to which institutions could be targeted next across the country. …”

– Wendy Francis of the Australian Christian Lobby speaks plainly about the ACT Government’s move to compulsorily acquire Calvary Hospital, Bruce.

“The Government is not God.”

See also:

Say NO to the forcible takeover of Calvary Hospital – Australian Christian Lobby. (And follow the link to take action, if you desire).

What constitutes Anglican identity?

“There is no doubt that the sixteenth-century Reformation changed the world. From politics and social attitudes to things like work and family life. To the art of Michelangelo, the music of J.S. Bach and the literature of Shakespeare. To those on board the Mayflower and to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

The face of Western culture and society over the past 500 years would have been very different without the likes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and many others.

This is certainly true of the Church of England and the way it has developed into the modern Anglican Communion. And yet today, there is great ambiguity about what constitutes true Anglican identity. Where can we turn to in order to start answering such a vexed question?

Let me suggest that we can begin our answer by turning to reconsider one of the foundational Anglican texts: The Book of Common Prayer, originally composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

But since the Anglican Church has a five-hundred-year history, which edition of the Prayer Book captures the true essence of Cranmer’s vision for the Church? Is it the 1549, 1552, 1559, 1604, 1662, 1928, or 1979 Prayer Book?

What I’d like to do over the next few minutes is to take us back to the historical roots of the Anglican movement. Right to the heart of the Reformation as it unfolded in England under Edward VI from 1547-1553. And with a particular focus on liturgical reform. …”

– “What constitutes Anglican identity?” In 2017, Dr Stephen Tong spoke on “Liturgy in the reign of Edward VI in 16th century England”at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas, Texas.

A current reminder of why this paper is very helpful:

– Two Anglican Leaders [Calvin Robinson and Chuck Collins] duke it out over what it means to be Anglican – VirtueOnline.

Portrait of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.

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