Today, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams told the worldwide Anglican Communion that the “infamous legislation” now being discussed in Uganda was rightly received with “repugnance.”

Meanwhile, the Anglican Church of Uganda released an official statement on the same Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. Its verdict? The Church supports the death penalty for “serial offenders” (practicing homosexuals) and sentences of up to life imprisonment for a variety of lesser offenses, including failure to report homosexuality. Its suggestions for the bill were all designed to make its aims clearer.

It would appear that gay bishops, priests and communicants are a minor issue. The most timely issue for Anglicans worldwide at the moment is whether you and I deserve death.

[Edit: Mea culpa. The actual position of the Church of Uganda is more complicated than I first understood. Contrary to the report by Christianity Today, it appears what the Church is suggesting is an amended version of the already-existing Penal Code Act, incorporating revisions to reflect the general aims of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Church’s statement explicitly affirms some aspects of the Bill (in particular, stating that sexual orientation must never become a “protected human right”), but it does not explicitly affirm the death penalty for homosexual offenses.]

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