Kolini Tries Bait & Switch in Rwanda: “No Mingling” with Gays

Here’s the news from The New Times in Kigali, as aggregated by AllAfrica.com:

Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini has called on churches in the East African region to fight against homosexuality for the good of the society.

The leader of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda insisted that Anglican churches in East Africa will not mingle with the homosexuals in the affairs of the church for the good of the community.

“We are reformed Anglicans who want to adhere to the original creeds of the Bible, and that’s why our church has decided to ignore the 2008 Lambeth Conference because it has not done much to fight homosexuality in the communion,” he said on Sunday.

Other than being another blanket condemnation of Gay people to advance his position in domestic and Church politics, it’s hard to interpret Kolini’s exact meaning. If he actually did say the words “the original creeds of the Bible,” it’s an incoherent statement; the Bible doesn’t contain any creeds.

The “no mingling” bit is equally confusing. Remember, English is not the native language of Archbishop Kolini or the news reporter, Grace Mugabe. The meaning and use of words changes from place to place. If you thought Biblical interpretation was difficult, try parsing the English spoken in Africa.

Suffice it for now that Kolini has felt the need to demonize Gay people, so ignore the plausible distraction and keep your eye on what he’s really up to. You can bet it’s really about politics.++