Nobel Winner Tutu Says "God is Weeping" Over Church Homophobia
Monday 8th September 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has condemned the arguments over homosexuality that threaten to split the Anglican Church, saying that “God is weeping” over the arguments.
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The former Nobel Prize winner said that the church’s obsession with homosexual issues was making the church look bad, keeping it from doing real and necessary work ending poverty.
Tutu gave his comments while in London to speak to a charity conference for church leaders, organized by Christian anti-poverty group Tearfund.
Tutu told the BBC: ''My own sadness with what appears to be an obsession with human sexuality is the fact that the world is hurting, the world is hungry, the world is diseased, the world is [ridden] by corruption and conflict. And we ought to beware, almost as you know our Lord would be... And I myself would imagine that God is weeping, and the world quite rightly should dismiss the church in those cases as being totally irrelevant.”
He added: “And I have said for myself it is actually not a matter of theology, It is a matter of justice. And I can't, for myself, I can't sit and be quiet when people are clobbered for being something [about] which they can do nothing. Their sexual orientation, some people say, ‘You choose.’ I can't imagine anyone in their right mind choosing a way of life that exposes them to so much hatred, and sometimes people have been killed because they were been believed to have be homosexuals. And so, just speaking for myself, I will to the extent that I can, stand up and say, 'I oppose homophobia.' “
Tutu has been active in promoting anti-poverty work. Church leaders, however, say that Tutu and others have not fully given the church credit for its work in that field. John Packer, bishop of Ripon and Leeds, in particular pointed out the church’s work in Millennium Development Goals and Make Poverty History.
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the LGBT issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. We also want writers who can cover issues on ALL the LGBT community, including the transgender community. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
The former Nobel Prize winner said that the church’s obsession with homosexual issues was making the church look bad, keeping it from doing real and necessary work ending poverty.
Tutu gave his comments while in London to speak to a charity conference for church leaders, organized by Christian anti-poverty group Tearfund.
Tutu told the BBC: ''My own sadness with what appears to be an obsession with human sexuality is the fact that the world is hurting, the world is hungry, the world is diseased, the world is [ridden] by corruption and conflict. And we ought to beware, almost as you know our Lord would be... And I myself would imagine that God is weeping, and the world quite rightly should dismiss the church in those cases as being totally irrelevant.”
He added: “And I have said for myself it is actually not a matter of theology, It is a matter of justice. And I can't, for myself, I can't sit and be quiet when people are clobbered for being something [about] which they can do nothing. Their sexual orientation, some people say, ‘You choose.’ I can't imagine anyone in their right mind choosing a way of life that exposes them to so much hatred, and sometimes people have been killed because they were been believed to have be homosexuals. And so, just speaking for myself, I will to the extent that I can, stand up and say, 'I oppose homophobia.' “
Tutu has been active in promoting anti-poverty work. Church leaders, however, say that Tutu and others have not fully given the church credit for its work in that field. John Packer, bishop of Ripon and Leeds, in particular pointed out the church’s work in Millennium Development Goals and Make Poverty History.
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the LGBT issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. We also want writers who can cover issues on ALL the LGBT community, including the transgender community. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
