in Faith and religion, Oceania

Homophobia in the South Pacific

Vanuatu: Bishop says churches reject the gays

Vanuatu's location in the South Pacific.
Vanuatu’s location in the South Pacific.

The Vanuatu Christian Council of Churches says it does not welcome the recent establishment of a LGBT association in the island nation in the south Pacific Ocean.
Last week, the president of the LGBT association, Gilio Baxter, said it wants to persuade chiefs, clergy, judges and the government on the community’s rights. But the chairman of VCCC, Bishop James Ligo, says the country’s constitution is based on Christian and Melanesian values.
Ligo is calling on all churches and chiefs to take a stand against the establishment of the LGBT association.
[Editor’s note: Vanuatu does not have a law against homosexuality.]
Source: Radio New Zealand
Reprinted in cooperation with the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News.

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Written by Colin Stewart

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern California. After his retirement from paid newspaper work in 2011, he launched Erasing 76 Crimes and helped with the Spirit of 76 campaign that assembled a multi-national team of 26 LGBTI rights activists to advocate for change during the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2012. He is the president of the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation, which supports LGBTQ+ rights advocacy journalism, including the Erasing 76 Crimes news site and the African Human Rights Media Network. Contact him via Twitter @76crimes or by email at info@76crimes.com. Mailing address: 21 Marseille, Laguna Niguel CA 92677 USA.

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