17 September 2007

THE Anglican Church Province of Central Africa has broken up, and the issue of homosexuality has been cited. The Herald caught up with the man who delivered the deathblow by withdrawing the Diocese he leads, Dr Nolbert Kunonga of Harare, to discuss this and other issues.

QUESTION: Bishop Kunonga, the big news is you have pulled out of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. Can you briefly tell our readers what motivated that decision?

ANSWER: First and foremost, the Church and the nation need to know that we belong to the Catholic Church ourselves, we belong to the Catholic faith. We believe in the primacy and supremacy of the scriptures and we will not tolerate any views that go contrary to the supreme canons, legitimate and authentic canons that have made us move away. The big decision is that we want to abide by our conscience and our faith. We do not intend to deviate in any way from the scriptures. To do so is to go against the rule of God if not His will, and I would urge Zimbabweans and Anglicans throughout the country that we cannot accept homosexuality. It has never been accepted and it will not be accepted in the Diocese of Harare and, as the Bishop of Harare, I don’t accept that.

Q: But Bishop, I understand the Province of Central Africa took a stand against homosexuality, and at the just ended Synod a resolution was drafted to that effect. Why then did you leave?

A: There are several reasons why we pulled out as a Diocese. First of all, when we look at the Province, it is very weak. The mechanisms are there, instruments are there, but there are no powerful or strong users of the mechanisms of the constitutions and the canons of the prophets of the Church. That is number one.

Number two, our province is the poorest and there are many poor dioceses. People who belong to homosexual movements from England, America and other European countries have poured in a great deal of money and diluted the stand of the Province. So the resolution that was made is just a resolution. It has no consequence, no bearing. And having been working with the province myself, I know there is nothing they can do and a lot of money, as I have said, was being poured into it and that alone makes it difficult to handle this question or this resolution to make it effective.

Q: In the statements you made in Malawi, you accused the Bishop of Botswana and a few other bishops of embracing homosexuality. Would you elaborate on what exactly the Bishop of Botswana did which divided the Province?

A: The Bishop of Botswana, Trevor Mwamba, as it emerged in the Episcopal Synod before the Provincial Synod, was that he was an avowed sympathiser, compromiser and advocate for homosexuality and this was not received well by many bishops. He insisted, persistently, that the homosexual candidate for Lake Malawi be reinstated or be consecrated as Bishop of Lake Malawi. He saw nothing wrong with that and that made many people suspicious. And not only that; in many forums he has spoken, he has addressed on issues of homosexuality and supported it in various ways and nobody doubted his position. This is why I started by saying he is an avowed homosexual or he is convinced about his position.

Q: How do you respond to the view that your withdrawal was strategically planned to coincide with Archbishop Malango’s retirement, particularly assertions that you want to form your own province in which you will be Archbishop?

A: Oh, it was not planned, it was not done to coincide with the retirement (of Archbishop Malango). It is not even my ambition to become the Archbishop of any province. We stand by the scriptures, we stand by the will of God, it does matter when this comes in.

It so happens that it coincides with Archbishop Malango’s retirement, but it has nothing to do with my ambitions because when deacons become bishops and bishops become archbishops, we are elected. It is a matter of power and you cannot be sure that you become archbishop in the process because elections can go anywhere. So it has nothing to do with that.

We are inspired and motivated by our beliefs in the scriptures, our beliefs as Catholic Christians and our beliefs as human beings that homosexuality cannot be accepted because it takes away our human dignity and it is not accepted in the Constitution of our country, and it is inconceivable in our cultural background.

It is unthinkable that a man could undress in the presence of another man and a woman can undress for another woman. So it’s an abomination not only from the scripture point of view, but also from the cultural, political set-up in which we are operating. All these are violated by thinking or intending or compromising with homosexuality.

Q: The Lake Malawi saga seemed to have indirectly or directly influenced your position. What help can you offer the conservatives in the Diocese of Lake Malawi who may come to you for advice?

A: It is very sad that the situation in Lake Malawi has developed into a two-polar system of those who are pro-homosexuality and those who are against homosexuality. But for those who are against homosexuality, there is a word of comfort: we are prepared to give them refuge and comfort; we are prepared to give them hope; we are prepared to work, to have a fellowship with them. We will support them when they stand resolute and firmly against homosexuality.

So the world has not ended, there is a lot of hope. I encourage them to contact us and we will try to contact them too. This is how we can forge ahead together. We want to be one family, we want to continue doing what the Church and God wants us to do as His children. It has nothing to do with that they come from Lake Malawi or I come from the Diocese of Harare, but we want to be together as a family, as Anglicans who opposed and protest against homosexual practices.

Q: Bishop, issues of faith and principle are fundamental in this regard, but there are those who say the Church is for sinners and homosexuals are also sinners, They say instead of condemning and barring them, we should embrace and minister to them so that they can be saved?

A: I am a preacher, I am a theologian. I understand that God would embrace His children because he created them in the image of God, in His own image. But what we are against is to engage homosexuals in holy matrimony because in our canon, even the human canon we have created as Central Africa, homosexuality is not part of holy matrimony. In our canons we say one husband one wife and a woman for a man. Homo means the same. Here we are talking of people of different sexes, one male, one female. And if we want to be biblical, there was Adam and Eve, there was never Steven and Rob. It was not Jane and Mary, but it was Peter and Faith all the time.

We have never deviated and this is our tradition as a Church and this is the teaching of the scriptures and we abide by the scriptures. And in our own African context, the cultural contexts, we follow very closely what the scriptures require us to do. In the Hebrew religion they have always followed this issue. In Islam religion it is always a man and a woman and in other denominations, non-Christian denominations, it is always a man and a woman whether it is a civil or church marriage doesn’t matter. That is what is natural. Homosexuality is an abomination, unnatural, sinful and intolerable. So we continue to emphasise that reject it totally with no reservations.

Q: What do you think will be the impact of the breakaway on the already divided Anglican community?

A: The impact is tremendous. Let me begin with the international community. This office of the Diocese of Harare has been inundated with phone calls, emails and (postal) mail. Since Monday hundreds of people have called us from all over the world supporting us. These dioceses, which is amazing, from the Americas, which have not joined the ECUSA, or the Episcopal Anglican Church which is also our sister Anglican Church, who are breaking away, are saying they are going to follow us and join us. So we are not alone in this battle.

Many Anglicans internationally and worldwide are supporting us and those who have taken the step that we have taken are only saying welcome brother and those who are to follow are saying well done brother we are following your footsteps. And within the country, it’s not only Anglicans; it is many Christians who have seen that we have taken a noble position to reject anything that goes against the will of God and against the scriptures.

We have been encouraged by even other religions -- not denominations. Moslems, Hindus and those who practice African religion have supported us. Chiefs in this country have also supported us. So from whichever angle we have been supported.

But the greatest support I am looking for not matter even all these people were against me, I have that support and God is on my side. That is the greatest support. We are not just doing it so that there is a big impact in the world, but we are doing it so that we are true and faithful to our God and our God will be true and faithful to us.

Q: Have you received any communication from the Archbishop of Canterbury?

A: Not yet, but the Archbishop of Canterbury is also in a way a culprit because we understand and we know that he has been interfering with the practices, processes and the running of the Province of Central Africa. We gather that the man from USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) Bishop Doe and Chad Gandiya were given money which they spread among the dioceses to influence the decision to win in their position. So it is very difficult, I think, for him to respond to this as quickly as possible.

He is not clean and is part of it because he has interfered. And the other thing is that the centre is shaken. He is supposed to be the pillar of unity. So he is shaken, he has no Anglican Church to lead anymore because there are so many fellowships developing in the world. And which one does he lead? It is because of his wishy-washy position, a weak position and sympathetic position to homosexuality. You may never tell whether he is pro or against homosexuality. We need a firm leader, and he has failed to provide that leadership. All he dwells on is to say who comes to Lambeth and who doesn’t come to Lambeth according to his way. So I don’t expect an immediate response from the Archbishop of Canterbury because his weak leadership and weak character has failed to spearhead and to hold the Anglican Church together. It’s very sad that the Anglican Church is falling apart, things have fallen apart in his own hands. It’s very, very sad.

Q: There are five dioceses in Zimbabwe that can constitute a province according to the Constitution of the Province of Central Africa. Does that same constitution bind you? If not, what is the way forward?

A: We are out of the Province of Central Africa right now, we are going to form a new province. It’s true that there are five here in Zimbabwe. Three of them -- that is the Diocese of Manicaland, the Diocese of Harare that I lead and the Diocese of Central Zimbabwe -- are very clear and resolute, very firm that they reject homosexuality. As for the other two, it is for you to make a conclusion. And when I see that it is the leadership, the people in those remaining dioceses we treat them the way we have treated those of Lake Malawi. They are fellow Zimbabweans, they are fellow Christians, they are fellow Anglicans, we know that they are not homosexuals. So we invite them to join us and walk this walk together for the glory of God.

Q: Are you prepared to name the Zimbabwean bishops dabbling in homosexuality?

A: For some reason, I can’t mention them, but we were surprised, this is why we were saying we were surprised in the Provincial Synod in the Province of Central Africa. Certain manifestations showed us that not all the five bishops are together. They joined in ridiculing us. I mean for the moment I will leave it there, but I want to repeat that Manicaland, Harare and Central Zimbabwe are together against homosexuality but I was surprised by the stance that was taken by the other two at the Provincial Synod.

Q: What is the role of the Anglican Council of Zimbabwe? What comments can you make from the history of the Anglican Council of Zimbabwe?

A: The role of the Anglican Council of Zimbabwe has been severely crippled; it has not been functioning as a national institution for Anglicans. And since that we are not going to work together after this, the two other dioceses obviously are not going to work with the Diocese of Manicaland, the Diocese of Harare and the Diocese of Central Zimbabwe. So that way, it is very sad that things have gone the way they have done. I would have thought otherwise that the other two, if things were normal, we would work together as family with them, in unity. But we have had problems coming through the Province, homosexuality in particular. Homosexuality has divided us even at national level in the Anglican Zimbabwean community.

Q: Your words to the Anglican community in Zimbabwe?

A: The most important thing that I would like Zimbabweans to hear, especially the Anglicans, is that we believed in the supreme, primary, legitimate, authentic and true canons, divine canons, that is the scriptures. First of all, I call them to centre around these scriptures, these Holy Scriptures that is our centre and that is the centre that is not going to crack. It is the centre that points us to Christ, that reconciles us with Jesus Christ.

It is not in the canons of the Province of the Church of Central Africa, but it is in these supreme, divine canons.

So I just want Zimbabweans, particularly Anglicans, to know that and also to know that we are prepared as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ in the Anglican family to walk together this walk of liberation from the sin of homosexuality and reject it totally.

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