Instead of facing problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, and global conflict, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the BBC that the Church, particularly the Anglican Communion, is obsessed with homosexuality and gay clergy. “God must be weeping looking at some of the atrocities that we commit against one another,” Tutu says.
Archbishop Tutu referred to the debate about whether Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, could serve as the bishop of New Hampshire.
He said the Anglican Church had seemed “extraordinarily homophobic” in its handling of the issue, and that he had felt “saddened” and “ashamed” of his church at the time.
Asked if he still felt ashamed, he said: “If we are going to not welcome or invite people because of sexual orientation, yes.
“If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn’t worship that God.”
The interview will be broadcast on Tuesday, November 27 on BBC4 from 2000 to 2040 GMT.
Archbishop Tutu reject the notion that homosexuality was a choice.
“It is a perversion if you say to me that a person chooses to be homosexual.
“You must be crazy to choose a way of life that exposes you to a kind of hatred.
“It’s like saying you choose to be black in a race-infected society.”
BBC News-Africa: Tutu chides Church for gay stance
BBC Radio 4: Religion and Ethics: From Calvary to Lambeth.