You've Got Mail: Letters to and from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Integrity's Executive Director, Max Niedzwiecki, recently spearheaded a call to action by writing the Archbishop of Canterbury, imploring him to speak out following the brutal murder of David Kato in Uganda.

In Max's letter wrote:

I am writing to respectfully request that you use your influence with leaders of the Anglican Communion, and specifically the Anglican Church of Uganda, and urge them to proclaim the following statement:



All people are beloved children of God. While we acknowledge that we are not of one mind on issues of human sexuality and gender identity, we state unequivocally that it is absolutely unacceptable for a person to be persecuted or murdered because he or she is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), or because a person speaks out in favor of people who are LGBT. Violence that is perpetrated against people simply because they are "different" is against the basic principles of Christianity, and a grave sin.


Today he received the following response from Lambeth Palace.

Dear Mr Niedzwiecki,


Thank you for your message to the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to his statement on the murder of David Kato. It is to be hoped and prayed that this will indeed be a moment to take stock and address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities.


Yours sincerely,
Isobel Owen
Lambeth Palace

Lives are endangered indeed. Today there was also news that The Rt. Rev. Christopher Senyonjo, Retired Bishop of West Buganda and Director of the St. Paul’s Centre for Equality and Reconciliation, Kampala has written an open letter the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In it he says......

As human beings, we must respect our differences and be united in our call for listening and sharing with each other. To understand God, we are all called to understand the mystery of each other, including our sexualities. God has given us this gift and to defame, condemn, imprison and kill human beings because of their God-given nature, is a great human error.

To read the rest of his letter, click here.

We anxiously await the Archbishop's response to Bishop Christopher.