Archbishop Peter Akinola, the primate of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) has been in the fore of the fight against this weird intrusion into the Christian faith. Just like most parts of the world were shocked with that ordination, Akinola has earned accolades from around the world for his doggedness in condemning the practice; at one point threatening to lead other African countries out of the Anglican fold if the practice of gay ordination continues.

Time magazine named him among 100 most influential persons in the world. It is bad enough that the Episcopal Church in America could condone sodomy in accommodating gay adherents in its fold. Yet, it is worse that even a gay man could be ordained a priest. Even then, that such a gay priest could indeed become a Bishop, a spiritual head of the church is revolting. It is as strange as it is antithetic to biblical stance.

No doubt, the idea of gay-priests and same-sex marriage as practised in American Anglican (Episcopal) Churches and some parts of Europe is a double-barreled affront on the doctrine of chastity and continence as enunciated in the Holy Bible.

Thanks to Akinola's spirited opposition, the American Church authorities in the Anglican Communion have recently realised the import of this practice such that they have re-modified their position. The Episcopal Church now says it will no longer admit gay-men/women into the priesthood order. That means that the Episcopal authorities are less bothered if members of the laity are gay men or women. In other words, being gay is good enough for the laity but not the clergy. Pray, does God have different measures for evaluating the faithfulness or holiness of clergymen and another for the laity? Put differently, if gayness is not edifying among the priests, why is it is permissive among the laity?

We agree with Akinola that this minimal shift in position amounts to scratching the matter on the surface. His resolve explains why he has earned the confidence and support of all African members of the Anglican Church; in the stiff opposition to the apostasy being introduced into the church.

It is against the backdrop of this cosmetic adjustment in stance of the Western Anglicans that we commend the unflinching commitment of Akinola, in upholding and campaigning for the preservation of the Bible-founded doctrines of the church.

Indeed, this wave of strange doctrine had stealthily crept into the church in 1993, during the Lambeth Conference in the United Kingdom, where the western leaders of the church, tolerated the idea of gay priests in its fold. Then, another Nigerian priest, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma had also mounted a vehement opposition to the idea. Since then, the gay issue continues to dominate discourse within the global Anglican community.

We therefore see the resistance of Akinola and other clergymen as a way of not only promoting compliance with the Biblical values and teachings by adherents of the Anglican faith; but also protecting the socio-moral values of the African society. Indeed, as Africans, the prisms of our social ethos are anchored on family values. It is the nurture of such family values that ensure the continuation of mankind.

Neither the ordination of gay priests nor the promotion of same-sex marriage will ensure the continuation of the human race. If the gay culture, for instance, were to become a global order, what will become of procreation factor in the replenishment of human race. How will humanity renew itself with such anti-procreation stance?

We whole-heartedly endorse the crusade of Archbishop Akinola. We enjoin the American and the European Anglican communities to re-assess their libertine license, especially as it concerns ecclesiastical matters. It is unacceptable for any church worth its name to stick to the wrong-headed doctrine of same-sex marriage.

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