Bishop Desmund Tutu

Although I haven't had much time to blog lately I would like to share a quotes from a powerful book I just finished reading, In the Eye of the Storm, by Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church. For today I'd like to share a short excerpt from the forward by Bishop Desmund Tutu, a renowned voice for human rights who worked tirelessly to end the regime of apartheid in South Africa.

For Bishop Tutu as for many others in the church who understand the LGBT struggle for rights and equality, this is an issue of justice - one that will not be resolved until justice is served. Crucially, Bishop Tutu also emphasizes the critical point that discrimination against LGBT in the church punishes a group of people for something they have no control over - namely, their sexual orientation. This is a cruel injustice that must stop if the Good News of God's love is to ring out again in our time for all to hear. As Bishop Tutu so aptly puts it,

“Many of us were engaged in the anti-apartheid struggle. Apartheid, crassly racist, sought to penalize people for something about which they could do nothing—their ethnicity, their skin color...I joined the many who campaigned against an injustice that the church tolerated in its ranks when women were not alowed to be ordained. They were being penalized for something about which they could do nothing, their gender...I could not stand by while people were being penalized again for something about which they could do nothing—their sexual orientation. I am humbled and honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who seek to end this egregious wrong inflicted on God’s children.” (In the Eye of the Storm, Gene Robinson, New York: Seabury Books, 2008, xiii-xiv).

Peace,

Padre Chuck