World Council of Churches -
News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release:
22 December 2009
WCC concerned about anti-homosexual bill in Uganda
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, wrote a letter to Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, saying that the WCC was "saddened and distressed to receive the news from Uganda regarding a proposed law against homosexual individuals […], which also proposes the death penalty to be meted to homosexual individuals who are HIV positive".
Kobia reminds the president of the commandment to love one's neighbour, adding that the law "should definitely not promote hatred".
He also warns that "all the discussions, time, efforts and some times money, used on the issue of homosexuality distracts us from non judgmental and constructive discussions about the majority’s problems" and that such a bill, if enacted, "will leave a lot of room for manipulation, abuse […] and oppression of people".
Full text of the letter:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=7480
Additional information:
Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
