ONE of the most powerful religious leaders in Africa has taken the unprecedented step of criticizing the head of the global Anglican Church, Justin Welby, who has announced he is stepping down.
According to Reuters, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said on Tuesday he had failed to ensure a proper investigation into allegations of abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps decades ago.
“This compromised leadership has led to the fabric of the Anglican Communion being torn at its deepest level,” said Stephen Kaziimba, the head of Uganda’s Anglican Church, in a statement to Reuters.
Reuters reports that “It grieves us deeply that so many people suffered from the continued abuse of John Smyth over many years simply because the church’s leadership covered up the abuse, did not uphold the moral teaching of the Bible and the church, and failed to defend the vulnerable,” Kaziimba said.
The Church of Uganda has long been at loggerheads with the Church of England over its stance on homosexuality, Reuters reports. Last year, the Ugandan church said it no longer had confidence in Welby’s leadership. “Unfortunately, this is the same compromised leadership that has led to the fabric of the Anglican Communion being torn at its deepest level,” Kaziimba told Reuters.
According to Reuters, Kaziimba supports Uganda’s strict anti-homosexuality law, which imposes tough penalties including death for some same-sex acts. He has said homosexuality is being forced on Uganda by foreign agents disguised as human rights activists. Reuters notes that Welby had previously written to the Church of Uganda urging it not to support the law.
Reuters reports that around 36% of Uganda’s population of around 46 million are Anglicans, while Catholics form the majority religious denomination in the east African country. The anti-homosexuality legislation has wide support in Uganda but has drawn criticism in the West, with the United States imposing sanctions including travel bans, Reuters adds.
