Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Declaring the Sanctity of Life & Dignity of All

On December 16th, 2020 a groundbreaking event was held in London, England to declare the sanctity and dignity of LGBT+ lives. It was attended in person and virtually by religious leaders from around the world.  A Declaration was initiated at the meetiing seeking to end worldwide discrimination against LGBT+ including practices such as conversion therapy and crimiinalization of LGBT+ lives.
 
Over 370 religious leaders from numerous religions in 35 countries have signed the Declaration. The signatories include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and eight other archbishops, the Catholic former president of Ireland Mary McAleese, more than 60 rabbis, and senior Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists.


At the same meeting, a Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives was established. The purposes of the Commission include providing the authoritative voices of religious leaders seeking an end to discrimination against LGBT+ people worldwide.

The following link will take you to a short video showing some of these leaders speaking the words of the Declaration. The video is on the Commission website. Signatures of religious leaders continue to be gathered there.
https://globalinterfaith.lgbt
 
It should be noted that the Commission and the Declaration were celebrated at Westminster Abbey. This event was led by the Deans of Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral and backed by the Government of the U.K. The worldwide Anglican Communion continues to be split over whether to acknowledge LGBT+ rights and full participation in Anglican life. Furthermore many religions worldwide do not acknowledge LGBT+ rights at all. The Declaration signatories are working to change this tragic situation.

We remain in hope that the new year will bring new acceptance for LGBTQ+ people worldwide and look forward to when we can meet with KUC members to determine KUC's commitment to becoming an Affirming Congregation within the United Church of Canada'.  

Further pertinent articles may be found at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/senior-faith-leaders-call-for-global-decriminalisation-of-lgbt-people?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/religious-leaders-call-for-global-ban-on-gay-conversion-therapies/ar-BB1bYPvd?fbclid=IwAR3tcRZtaZWvlqvOU-AEgVatsmhgREAE_V3cS14PrV3NQiIB--tcasmjq8g