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I Will Die a Bishop, Says
Ssenyonjo
27 Mar 2006- Uganda- Expelled Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo has
written a strongly worded letter to Archbishop Luke Orombi saying nobody
can kick him out of the Church or strip him of his title as bishop. Last
Friday, Orombi, the head of the Church of Uganda, announced that the
Church had expelled Ssenyonjo for publicly supporting homosexuals.
Ssenyonjo however, in his letter to
Orombi, said he is still a member of the Church and entitled to using
the title bishop, even when the church leadership chooses not to
recognise him. Ssenyonjo retired as Bishop of West Buganda Diocese in
1998 and fell out with the Church of Uganda later in 2002 for publicly
supporting homosexuals.
"The title bishop is not sacrosanct
to the Anglican Church of Uganda alone," Ssenyonjo said. "I was
consecrated in the Church of God. I belong to the Church in the royal
priesthood of all believers as per the gospel of 1 Peter 2:9. You can
take away everything else from me but not the title of bishop," he said.
Ssenyonjo's letter to Orombi, which
he (Ssenyonjo) read out to journalists at a press conference at Kisasi
in Ntinda, is copied to all bishops and diocesan secretaries of the
Church of Uganda, cabinet ministers, Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala, the head
of the Catholic Church in Uganda, Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga, the leader
of the Orthodox Church in the country and the General Secretary of the
Uganda Joint Christian Council.
While expelling Ssenyonjo on
Friday, Orombi said; "You are hereby denied the right to exercise the
office of a bishop or retired bishop in the Church of Uganda, including
the spiritual authority as a minister of the word and sacraments
conferred in your various ordinations."
Orombi said pursuant to Canon
3:24.2(a)(i) of the Provincial Canons of the Church Uganda, it's
presumed that Ssenyonjo had abandoned the exercise of the ministry to
which he was ordained by the formal admission to another religious body
not in communion with the Church of Uganda.
On March 12, Ssenyonjo inaugurated
the Charismatic Church of Uganda and consencrated Bishop Christopher
Lwanga Tusubira as its head in Uganda. The church is based in Nansana in
Wakiso district. Ssenyonjo was flanked by Tusubira at the press
conference. He said he had never abandoned the Church of Uganda he
served as bishop for 24 years.
He said he still attends service at
St. Andrews Church in Bukoto Kampala. He said his connection with the
Charismatic Church of Uganda is simply to provide them with services
when he is invited to do so. "I believe as a servant of Jesus Christ,
I'm duty bound to offer my services in any church founded on true
Christian principles when invited. We are all one body in Christ," he
said.
He denied working with or taking
orders from Archbishop Howard of the United States of America, the man
reportedly behind the Charismatic Church of Uganda.
During the Lambeth Conference of
World Anglican Bishops in 1998, some bishops supported gays and pushed
for their recognition by the Church, a topic that left the Church
divided.
"Quoting Luke 4:18-19, Senyonjo
said to him, as a counsellor, all people, including homosexuals are
welcome, especially the depressed, rejected, abused and the minority in
"our communities."
"I'm not a homosexual, my wife,
children and friends can attest to this. But homosexuals are not animals
and they don't rape people. What is important is to find out the cause
of their problem and help them reform, other than hating and condemning
them," Ssenyonjo said. Tusubira, said Orombi is attacking Ssenyonjo
because he is shaken by the church's growth.
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