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Archbishop of Canterbury Condemns Anti-Gay Violence
Abstract: Threats and attacks on Changing Attitude leaders elicit comments from Anglican leader.
On April 9, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a terse statement condemning violence:
The threats recently made against the leaders of Changing Attitudes are disgraceful. The Anglican Communion has repeatedly, through the Lambeth Conference and the statements from its Primates’ Meetings, unequivocally condemned violence and the threat of violence against gay and lesbian people. I hope that this latest round of unchristian bullying will likewise be universally condemned.
The latest round of "unchristian bullying" began on Maundy Thursday, when a co-leader of Changing Attitude Nigeria was attacked and beaten in Port Harcourt. Subsequently, Davis Mac-Illya, Director of Changing Attitude Nigeria, received a text message threatening his life. On Easter Monday (March 24), The Rev.Colin Coward, Director of Changing Attitude England, received a similar intimidating text message.
On March 30, Davis Mac-Illya was attacked in Lome, Nigeria. The attacker slashed Mac-Illya's hand with a knife and tried to inject him with a syringe. Mac-Illya resisted and knocked the syringe away. The attacker fled. Mac-Illya went into seclusion.
The Rev. Colin Coward (pictured at right) commented:
The Anglican Communion has been in turmoil for 10 years since the 1998 Lambeth Conference passed a very negative resolution about homosexuality. The conflict in the church has intensified since then, with many bishops and other leaders making highly judgmental and often abusive comments and pronouncements about LGBT Anglicans.
Such inflammatory statements lead some members of Anglican Communion churches to believe that threats and violence against those who are LGBT (or those who support a more open stance towards LGBT people) are not only justified but are authentic expressions of Christianity.
Changing Attitude is a charitable organization working for the inclusion and affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Anglican Communion.
