President Museveni has thrown his weight behind the Anglican Church for rejecting same sex unions despite blessings from the Church in England.
The synod in England (their top governing body) on Thursday endorsed plans to let priests offer blessings to same-sex couples, ending a protracted internal debate of up to six years by divided Anglicans.
They decided to allow clergy to preside at blessings of Same-sex unions and approved supplemental prayers and liturgies for such occasions.
A total of 250 bishops, clergy and laity supported the reforms, 181 opposed and 10 abstained to vote at the Synod gathering in central London. They also voted to allow blessings for civil marriages or civil partnerships in a church.
During celebrations to mark the Janan Luwum Day on February 16, 2023, in Kitgum district, President Museveni appreciated the church leadership for committing to break away from the mother in Canterbury .
“I want to congratulate Ugandan believers for rejecting homosexuality. Those Europeans don’t listen but it is good you said not. We have been telling them that the thing of homosexuality is not something you should normalize and celebrate. It is good you took a principle of stand and told Canterbury I you want to go homosexual go,” Museveni said.
His remarks followed a declaration by Stephen Kaziimba, the Archbishop Church of Uganda, that they will only follow the teachings in the bible that prohibit all other sexual relations outside a marriage between husband and wife for procreation.
“The Bible in the book of Genesis to the last page of the Bible in the book of Revelation, a family is defined as one man and one woman united in holy matrimony for life and, God willing, a union that produces children. Whether it is adultery, or fornication, or polygamy, or homosexual relationships. They are all sin and they all separate us from God.” Kazimba said on Friday
Kazimba stated that it is a sin for anyone to have sex before marriage, have an extra marital affair “side dish”or even be a homo sexual.
” That means sleeping with your girlfriend or your boyfriend before marriage is a sin, if you are married with a “side dish,” that is a sin,if you take a second or third wife that is a sin too,” he explains
Homosexuality remains illegal in Uganda, despite a 2016 court ruling that found the 2014 Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act invalid on procedural grounds. The Penal Code Act still categorizes homosexuality as a crime against morality