CHANGING ATTITUDE NIGERIA NEWS

PRESS RELEASE

Davis Mac-Iyalla challenges Bishop Orama's attack on lesbian and gay people

Wednesday, 5 September 2007

The Anglican Bishop of Uyo, Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama, has condemned the activities of homosexuals and lesbians, and described those engaged in them as "insane people''. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) given on 2 September 2007 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.”

Davis Mac-Iyalla, Director of Changing Attitude Nigeria, said today:

“As the time draws close for the Nigerian bishops to vote whether or not they will attend the Lambeth Conference, Archbishop Peter Akinola is at work lobbying the bishops of Nigeria to support his personal ideas about the future of the Anglican Communion. Even if bishop Orama needs to reward Akinola and the other bishops who lobbied for him to become a bishop himself, he doesn’t need to step on the head of innocent gay and lesbian people.

“Changing Attitude Nigeria is surprised that a bishop like Orama uses such language about homosexuality and calls people created in the likeness and image of God satanic. Bishop Orama is from the Niger Delta and knows very well that homosexuality existed in Nigeria even before the advent of western missionaries.

“Changing Attitude Nigeria challenges his authority to use those words about us. We ask, as LGBT Anglicans in Nigeria, whether this is his contribution to the Listening Process to which the Communion is committed in the Windsor Report.

“Bishop Orama has once more focussed the attention of church and society against an innocent and vulnerable minority of people in a hostile country like Nigeria.

“Changing Attitude Nigeria calls on the facilitator for the listening process, Canon Phil Groves, to take note of Bishop Orama’s comments. The Church of Nigeria has been denying our existence and is now using every means and tactic to silence us.”

The UPI report records Bishop Orama as condemning the activities of homosexuals and lesbians. He describes those engaged in such activities as "insane people''.

Bishop Orama is reported as saying:

"It is scaring that any one should be involved in a thing like that and I want to say that they will not escape the wrath of God.'' He said that the practice, which has worsened over the years, was "unbiblical and against God's purpose for creating man.

"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 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. "The aim of such fight is to provide a safe place for those who want to remain faithful Anglicans and Biblical Christians.”

Davis Mac-Iyalla provides background information about Bishop Orama
The Rt. Revd. Isaac Orama of Uyo diocese was recently ordained as a bishop. He is one of Archbishop Peter Akinola’s newly appointed bishops, carefully chosen to support the Archbishop‘s own agenda.

The former Archbishop of the Niger Delta Provinces, who was prior to that the Bishop of Uyo Diocese, was bishop Nglass who retired a year or so ago. Bishop Orama was a priest in the Diocese of Niger Delta North. He was selected to become a bishop because his patron is the present Bishop of the Diocese of Niger Delta North, the Rt. Rev. Ignatius Kattey, who is another close friend and strong ally of Archbishop Akinola.

Davis Mac-Iyalla knows bishop Katty very well. He accompanied the late Bishop Ugede to a fundraising event at the invitation of Bishop Kattey. Bishop Kattey invited about six bishops from the poor dioceses of what was then Province 3. Bishop Ugede, his son Aaron and Davis were hosted in St John’s Deanery, Rumeme in Diobu, Port-Harcourt. At that time Orama was the vicar of St Andrews Church, Rumuobiakani. He left there when he was appointed bishop of Uyo.

END

Contact:
Davis Mac-Iyalla, Director of Changing Attitude Nigeria
+228 993 7680
davis@nigeria.changingattitude.org
Revd Colin Coward, Director of Changing Attitude England
Tel. Office: 01380 724908
Mobile: 07770 844302
email: colin@changingattitude.org

Telephone 01380 724908
E-mail office@changingattitude.org

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