Bishop Christopher Senyonjo was excommunicated from the Church of Uganda for his opposition to the country’s severe culture of homophobia, but that hasn’t stopped him from carrying the torch for LGBT rights across the globe.
The Bishop delivered an introductory message to urge people to attend screenings at the Queer Kampala International Film Festival, which celebrates the diversity of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and two-spirited communities through cinema.
The event, staged December 9-11, was East Africa’s first LGBTQ film festival, aimed at bringing together the Ugandan gay community, potential allies, and film enthusiasts from abroad.
In a 3-minute video, the 85-year-old claimed to relate sexuality and the importance of queer cinema as a way of helping people learn more about the human condition and human sexualities.
“In my understanding of the human sexuality, I found that we need to be more knowledgeable… There is a lot of lack of understanding which is causing unnecessary discrimination. We should know human sexuality in its fulness, as for procreation, companionship, creativity and pleasure,” he added. ” We are privileged, because there are some films to be shown…they are concerned about giving us some understanding about human sexuality.”
The retired bishop recently visited the HuffPost Live studio to talk about “God Loves Uganda,” a documentary that examines “the culture clash between enthusiastic Midwestern missionaries and world weary Ugandans
It is during this talk show that he revealed that churches around the world should speak out and tell followers that being gay is not a sin, adding that it is the American missionaries who are contributing to the cesspool of hate that brews in Uganda.
“Gospel means good news, but when you tell people that if you don’t change being what you are, you are going to destroy the country, like Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, you cause a lot of hatred.”
“Many people think being LGBTQ is in itself a sin, whereas you cannot say being heterosexual is a sin. It’s the way you live your life,” he said. “If God has created you like that, you have to use what God has given you in the way you think will give glory to you and to your God.”
marvin@ugchristiannews.com
