The Archbishop of York John Sentamu has said he would ‘never’ describe homosexuality as a sin strongly contrasting with the Anglican Church of his birthplace Uganda, which takes a hardline stance against homosexuality.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, where he took part in a wide-ranging debate about LGBT rights with host Piers Morgan, Archbishop Sentamu, a brother to renowned Ugandan Pastor Robert Kayanja of Miracle Centre Church, affirmed that while he still has personal objections with same-sex marriage, he believes in LGBT equality generally and does not consider homosexuality to be a sin.
In the segment, Morgan had challenged Dr Sentamu, the second-ranked Archbishop in the Church of England, about his staunch opposition to equal marriage.
“I would never say that. I would never say that, because sin is doing something consciously against God.”
Asked if he was discarding parts of the Bible that condemn homosexuality, he said: “The whole of scripture must be read in context, you can’t just pick up a verse and say ‘because it says this’… that would be a nightmare.
“Please, for heaven’s sake, don’t always think that holding a view on marriage must be homophobic,” he said adding: “The Archbishop of Canterbury and I issued a statement yesterday asking all Christians to support all LGBTI people, and actually see them as created in God’s image and likeness, and not as an exception.
“I’ve got a lot of gay friends, they see me as a friend, they see me as someone who wants to support and protect them against homophobia.”
However, he maintained his stance on marriage.
The religious leader continued: “You can still have your view on marriage and at the same time be intolerant of homophobia.
“I support civil partnerships because I think that’s a matter of equality, and a matter of fairness, but for me, it was wrong for the Government to try to redefine the nature of marriage.”
He said: “My upholding of Christian marriage as I understand it goes hand-in-hand with saying to people, ‘to diminish homosexual people is anathema to the Christian faith because God loves us all equally.”
However, the Archbishop appeared offended after Piers Morgan attempted to contrast his views with discrimination based on race.
He hit back: “No, some of my relatives actually died on the ships.”
The Archbishop of York came in for criticism in 2014 – after he stripped a gay clergy member of his Permission to Officiate for tying the knot with his same-sex partner.
Hospital chaplain Jeremy Pemberton had defied a Church-wide ban on clergy entering same-sex marriages – but clergy not under Dr Sentamu’s jurisdiction have faced no action for doing the same.
Pastor Kayanja’s gay sex scandals
Sentamu’s words make the protracted, tawdry — and utterly unproven — homosexual abuse scandal that has tarnished his brother’s reputation all the more ironic.
What is this unedifying saga about and how does Robert find himself embroiled in it, to the point where for three years he has been fighting to clear his name in courts?
The first allegation was made by Samson Mukisa, a teenage boy who claimed Kayanja had procured him from the Miracle Centre’s Never Again home for street children. But others followed.
The boys are said to have sought help from four rival pastors, who were already on a crusade to root out alleged impropriety in the evangelical movement. They went to the police and later gave graphic TV and newspaper interviews discrediting Kayanja.
Within weeks, however, the tables were well and truly turned. Five of the six ‘victims’ were said to have recanted their statements, and the police not only cleared Kayanja of any impropriety, but laid charges against his accusers for tarnishing his reputation.
When he gave evidence, Kayanja drew on his considerable powers of oratory to proclaim his innocence, and even a defence lawyer concedes that his speech was ‘electrifying’.
‘Your worship, I don’t sell bananas or cows — I deal with human beings,’ he declared. ‘A man’s name is all he has, and when someone deliberately, relentlessly desires to destroy that name, he has destroyed everything you stand for.’
