Jesus supports gay rights, say S.African Anglicans
By Rebecca Harrison and Itumeleng Seakamela
Reuters
Tuesday, October 24, 2006

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters Life!) - When Anglican priest Jo Mdhlela preached his first sermon espousing equal rights for gays and lesbians, he was met with puzzled frowns by many in his conservative African congregation.

But despite opposition in his mostly black church near Johannesburg, Mdhlela hopes to persuade his flock that being Christian does not mean rejecting gays -- contrasting with most clergy on the continent, who believe homosexuality is sinful and un-African.

"Jesus is challenging churches," the green-robed cleric told his congregation in English, helped by an interpreter at his side who translated his message into the local Zulu and Sotho languages.
"Jesus is saying if you said apartheid was unjust then you must say laws discriminating against homosexual people are unjust."

South Africa's Anglican church has long nurtured a liberal tradition that sets it apart from its more conservative and mostly evangelical counterparts on the poorest continent, one bolstered by its opposition to white minority rule. the rest