wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Uganda: WCC concerned about anti-homosexual bill

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World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 22/12/2009 14:35:39

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
6363media@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 Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.