IN JAMAICA: Pastor lashes out at 'injustices' faced by gays....."How many Christians have you heard calling out for any kind of help for those young men who have taken refuge in the gully,"

Religious leaders have often come out against the lifestyle of homosexuals, also called gays, but one clergyman yesterday defended them, saying he was disappointed that more Christians were not speaking out against the injustices faced by the men, who are often scorned by the society.

"How many Christians have you heard calling out for any kind of help for those young men who have taken refuge in the gully," said Rev Sean Major Campbell, priest at Christ Church, Vineyard Town in St Andrew.

Rev Sean Major-Campbell (right) greets Counsellor
 of the South African High Commission to Jamaica
, Peter Makwarela, after a religious service to mark
 International Human Rights Day and the life and work
of Nelson Mandela yesterday at Christ Church,
Vineyard Town, St Andrew.
 (PHOTO: JOSEPH WELLINGTON)

 

He was speaking about an incident last week in which eight men, who police said were members of the homosexual community, were arrested in connection with a series of robberies in and around the New Kingston area.

"We need to repent as a church as we have too often been agents of negative silence," said the Anglican priest.The man of the cloth was speaking during Jamaicans for Justice's (JFJ) Church Service to commemorate International Human Rights Day and the life and work of Nelson Mandela. Read more: