Criminalizing LGBTQ+ in Ghana (Nov. 10, 2021)

As Bishops of the Communion Partners group within the Episcopal Church, we are gravely concerned by proposed legislation criminalizing LGBTQ+ people in Ghana. We understand that this legislation is supported by the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Ghana.

We rejoice in the relationships we have with the Church in Ghana. We are grateful to God for our participation over a number of years as observers in the Global South Conferences, and for the partnerships God has provided for us to work together for the sake of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this spirit of fellowship, as members mutually accountable to each other in Christ, we recall for ourselves and others the provisions of the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10, affirming the teaching of the Holy Scriptures that marriage is a life-long union between a man and a woman, and the proper context for sexual relations.

In this same spirit, we also recall the Conference’s commitment for the church to “minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation,” as well as its assurance “that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ” and “loved by God.” We believe that support for the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people will undermine this commitment.

We are grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his recent recalling of the 1998 Lambeth teaching, as well as his reminder of the many occasions in which the Primates of the Anglican Communion have stated their unanimous opposition to the criminalization of same sex attracted people, most recently in 2016.

We acknowledge the many ways in which we, and the Church in our own culture, have failed to live up to the call of the Gospel. We stand as fellow sinners at the foot of the cross, and seek the mercy of God.

The Rt. Rev. Lloyd Allen
Bishop of Honduras

The Rt. Rev. John Bauerschmidt
Bishop of Tennessee

The Rt. Rev. Greg Brewer
Bishop of Central Florida

The Rt. Rev. Francisco Duque-Gómez
Bishop of Colombia

The Rt. Rev. Moises Quezada Mota
Bishop of the Dominican Republic

The Rt. Rev. Michael G. Smith
Bishop Assistant of Dallas
Bishop Assisting of Albany

The Rt. Rev. George Sumner
Bishop of Dallas