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African bishop asks media to be more 'gracious and balanced'

A senior African Anglican bishop has issued a plea to the world's media to be more "gracious and balanced" in its reporting about issues facing Christians, particularly those relating to the 77-million-strong Anglican Communion, reports Ecumenical News International.

The bishop of Botswana, Trevor Musonda Mwamba, told Ecumenical News International that by concentrating on the current gay and lesbian debate at the expensive of other "real issues", such as poverty, malnutrition, drought and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the integrity of people outside the Northern hemisphere was demeaned. "The rest of the world needs to know that apart from press coverage in the West, the gay issue is not a pre-occupation of the poor," said the Zambian-born Musonda. "And we don't want it imposed on us as a priority agenda. Our agenda is about basic survival, food for the hungry, and we cannot focus on other agendas. In the words of a Swahili proverb, 'An empty stomach has no ears to hear with'."

[08/28/2008]

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