In a new biography, Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he is "ashamed" of his Anglican Church's conservative trend to reject gays and gay priests.
The strong pro-gay support comes in the forthcoming, Rabble-rouser for Peace, the first authorized bio of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The retired archbishop criticizes Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for conceding the gay-priest issue to conservative factions—particularly African bishops—in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion, which includes Episcopalians in the United States.
Tutu wrote that he was "ashamed to be Anglican" in a 1998 letter to Williams' predecessor, Archbishop George Carey. This was after the Lambeth Conference of Bishops rejected the ordination of practicing gays, saying their sexuality were "incompatible with scripture." Tutu was outspoken in supporting the ordination of openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
Rabble-rouser for Peace will be published on October 7th. Today, excerpts began appearing in South African media.
Tutu Expresses Shame at Church (San Jose Mercury News)
Tutu is one of my heroes in this world. I'm an atheist but the man can stand his ground with matters of religion. Great article,Rod!
Posted by: Shabaka | 23 September 2006 at 12:39
Shabaka I agree and am an atheist too
Posted by: DFS | 23 September 2006 at 17:37
What I would like to know is: Does Tutu have any influence on the thinking of any South Africans? We know that the American-style evangelical Christians have swooped in to capture the minds of average South Africans, using poverty as an opening. I wish a South African could tell us how well have they succeeded.
Posted by: Jim | 24 September 2006 at 14:03
Religion is the Opium for the masses, Karl Marx once said. Despite his radical socialist theory, Marx made a very insightful observation which I agree with.
You see religion provides a confort for all the world's troubles people today go through, and so they gladly follow its teaching with the promise of a paradise - a new Earth or heaven without any of these troubles.
However, religion also, in turn asks these people to give up their independent thought and go with what the religion tells them to believe: Blacks cannot join our religion; women have minimal roles and should shut up in the presence of men and shouldn't be subservient; homosexuals are deviants and should have no rights because they are less than what God intended them to be, i.e. normal humans like us heterosexuals; et al.
Boy am I glad I'm not caught up in the whirlwind of deception!
Posted by: Zeus | 26 September 2006 at 18:19