ACNS reports that that the Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali was elected the 8th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda today at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe, Uganda. He replaces Archbishop Henry Orombi who is retiring.
Born in Ndorwa County in Kabale District in 1955, he shifted with his family to Wambabya Parish in Kizirifumbi Sub-county in Hoima District when he was 16 years old. On Christmas Eve 1974, at the age of 19, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour and was born again.
He began working as a teacher in Wambabya Primary School, and later spent two years as a missionary in Karamoja Diocese. He did his theological training at Bishop Tucker Theological College, St. Paul’s Theological College, Limuru, Kenya, and the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in the UK.
After serving as a missionary in Karamoja Diocese, he served the remainder of his priestly ministry in various capacities in Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese until 2002, when he was appointed Provincial Secretary.
As a Bishop, Bishop Ntagali has represented the Archbishop in international meetings, served as the Chair of the Church House Board, and led the committee that designed guidelines for retiring Bishops.
Bishop Ntagali is married to Beatrice and they have five children.
In 2009, ENS reported that Ntagali rejected proposals that homosexuals should face the death penalty in Uganda, but says that prison terms should remain as a deterrent.
“We want to state categorically that homosexuality is unacceptable,” Anglican Bishop Stanley Ntagali of Masindi-Kitara diocese told Ecumenical News International in an interview.
The Ugandan parliament is currently discussing a proposed law which allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” involving assault against people under the age of 18 or those with disabilities.
“I think the death penalty is not acceptable,” Ntagali said on October 21. “I think taking someone to jail for a period of time would be sufficient.”
Homosexual acts are already a criminal offence in Uganda, with the maximum penalty being life imprisonment.
The new measure, introduced by lawmaker David Bahati, proposes a seven-year jail term for anyone who “attempts to commit the offence” or who “aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage in acts of homosexuality.”
If passed, the law would also punish the publishing of information, the provision of funds or premises for homosexual activities with a seven-year jail sentence or a fine of US$50,000, the PlusNews service reported.
Ntagali said the church views those involved in homosexuality as sinners who can repent and reform. “We have to be a moral fiber of the society,” he stated.
The draft law says it aims to “protect the traditional family by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex.”