Things are getting pretty strange in Global South land

The Global South Bishops are overplaying their hands.

In the person of the Anglican Bishop of Uyo, The Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama, The Church of Nigeria finally has a bishop who makes the case for hate. He said, ..."Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those who practice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they are rebels to God's purpose for man," the Bishop said. He noted that the Anglican Church in Nigeria had continued to lead the fight against the practice especially in the US where it led the opposition to same sex marriages...” Folk across the blogsphere, from Fr. Jake , Episcopal Café and Susan Russell to Kendal Harmon and some at Stand Firm have roundly condemned these remarks. Fr. Jake points out that Bishop Orama is not alone, that the Archbishop has said parallel things.

So we have one bishop from the Global South crowd, the crowd that is providing the majority of the bishops in the Common Cause Partnership, coming out with what can only be understood, if truly reported, as a proto-Nazi invitation to violence against gay and lesbian persons.

The Boston Globe also reports on a priest preaching at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Nairobi, “Rev. Samuel Muchiri told the 1,000 worshipers "we in Kenya feel this is not what God wants." An usher advised a visiting reporter to "remember that Sodom and Gomorrah was demolished because there were homosexuals." Another warned that the reporter could be assaulted if he asked worshipers about the issue, and said that America's permissiveness toward homosexuality had led Osama bin Laden to attack.”

So here is at long last a reason to get violent against gay people: they are responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

This stuff is so sick that if any part of either story is true there needs to be more than apologies and removal from the lists of acceptable bishops for Lambeth and suspension of this priest from further service, there needs to be ecclesiastical enquiry and discipline.

One one level there is no way to top this sort of violence.

On another level Archbishop Kolini has taken part in another sort of violence. His Province has determined to make the wholly owned subsidiary called AMiA twice its current size. So the Province of Rwanda will ordain three new bishops for American soil bringing the international component of the Network partnerships to a new high.

Archbishop Kolini had just returned to his synod meeting from the ordinations in Kenya and Uganda. There is no doubt that Rwanda’s efforts were discussed and found approval from other Network and Common Cause Partners present. Bishop Chuck Murphy, head honcho of AMiA was at those ordinations and we may assume was part of the decision making.

The Nigerian bishop has declared human beings less than human and unfit to live. The Rwandan bishops have declared the Episcopal Church less than Christian and unfit to exist. AMiA has decided to look to the unchurched in North America and includes in that number the members of The Episcopal Church.

The first is clearly worse than the last, but they are of a kind.

It appears that at least some of the Global South inter-circle of Provinces are taking various forms of violence to new levels.

So now the question is when will there be objection, distancing, and demands for apology from Primates of the various Communion members and from the Archbishop of Canterbury? Both of these actions serve ends and agendas that have nothing to do with goodness, mercy and justice, and everything to do with positioning for power and influence. They are shameful.