HUFFINGTON POST, June 11, 2011— Since his retirement as archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has become one of the world's most prominent figures pleading for a change in the attitudes of religious institutions toward human s*xuality.
A student once asked me, if I could have one wish granted to reverse an injustice, what would it be? I had to ask for two. One is for world leaders to forgive the debts of developing nations which hold them in such thrall. The other is for the world to end the persecution of people because of their s*xual orientation, which is every bit as unjust as that crime against humanity, apartheid.
This is a matter of ordinary justice. We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about -- our very skin. It is the same with s*xual orientation. It is a given. I could not have fought against the discrimination of apartheid and not also fight against the discrimination that homos*xuals endure, even in our churches and faith groups.
I am proud that in South Africa, when we won the chance to build our own new constitution, the human rights of all have been explicitly enshrined in our laws. My hope is that one day this will be the case all over the world, and that all will have equal rights. For me this struggle is a seamless robe. Opposing apartheid was a matter of justice. Opposing discrimination against women is a matter of justice. Opposing discrimination on the basis of s*xual orientation is a matter of justice.
It is also a matter of love. Every human being is precious. We are all -- all of us -- part of God's family. We all must be allowed to love each other with honor. Yet all over the world, lesbian, gay, bis*xual, and transgender people are persecuted. We treat them as pariahs and push them outside our communities. We make them doubt that they too are children of God. This must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy. We blame them for what they are.
Churches say that the expression of love in a heteros*xual monogamous relationship includes the physical -- the touching, embracing, kissing, the genital act; the totality of our love makes each of us grow to become increasingly godlike and compassionate. If this is so for the heteros*xual, what earthly reasons have we to say that it is not the case with the homos*xual?
The Jesus I worship is not likely to collaborate with those who vilify and persecute an already oppressed minority. I myself could not have opposed the injustice of penalizing people for something about which they could do nothing -- their race -- and then have kept quiet as women were being penalized for something they could do nothing about -- their gender; hence my support for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate.
Equally, I cannot keep quiet while people are being penalized for something about which they can do nothing -- their s*xuality. To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their s*xual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as apartheid ever was.
Excerpted from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu's new book, 'God Is Not A Christian: And Other Provocations
Posted By: Richard Kigel
Saturday, June 11th 2011 at 9:47PM
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