Archbishop Desmond Tutu told an international LGBT human rights group this week that it has been impossible to keep quiet "when people were frequently hounded... vilified, molested and even killed as targets of homophobia... for something they did not choose - their sexual orientation." Archbishop Desmond Tutu Tutu was in San Francisco to receive the Outspoken award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, reports 365gay.com. In his 30-minute address, Tutu said that in the face of this ongoing persecution LGBT people were "compassionate, caring, self-sacrificing and refusing to be embittered." Tutu spoke critically of the worldwide Anglican Church, apologizing for the way it has ostracized LGBT people, and for making them feel as if God had made a mistake by creating them to be who they are. "How sad it is," he said, "That the Church should be so obsessed with this particular issue of human sexuality when God's children are facing massive problems - poverty, disease, corruption, conflict..." The Outspoken award recognizes Tutu's leadership as a global ally of the LGBT community. His outspokenness has contributed substantially to advancing the rights and understanding of LGBT people everywhere the IGLHRC said. More on this story is available on 365gay.com, linked below.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 10th April 2008 - 11:04am