Britain’s Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby has said that it would be “absolutely catastrophic” if the Church of England were to accept gay marriage. He said the move would place Christians around the world in danger.
Speaking on an LBC radio discussion programme, Welby said that he had visited a mass grave of 369 bodies in South Sudan, Africa. He said those responsible in the area believed “if we leave a Christian community here we will all be made to become homosexual and so we will kill all the Christians”.
The Telegraph quotes Welby as having said: ”The impact of that on Christians in countries far from here, like South Sudan, like Pakistan, Nigeria and other places would be absolutely catastrophic and we have to love them as much as the people who are here.
”I’ve stood by a graveside in Africa of a group of Christians who’d been attacked because of something that had happened far, far away in America. And they were attacked by other people because of that.
”That burns itself into your soul, as does the suffering of gay people in this country,” he added.
Church leaders in South Sudan are reported to have made representations to the Archbishop of Canterbury in order to stop the Church of England going further in its acceptance of same-sex marriage.
The Daily Mail reports that The Archbishop and other Church of England leaders “have given regular hints of a softened line on homosexuality, and a high-level Synod report has said clergy should be able to conduct blessings for gay couples.”