Canon Akintunde Popoola has made further attacks on the integrity and credibility of Davis MacIyalla in his recent postings to Thinking Anglicans on 2, 4 and 5 April 2006.

Sir Davis MacIyalla is continuing to reveal a true picture of himself as he describes to me and other people his involvement with the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). It is very different from the picture you have attempted to present in your disclaimer of 28 December 2005.

Davis is a life-long Anglican, born into an Anglican family, baptised and confirmed an Anglican, a lay reader and a knight of the Church. His involvement with Bishop I Ugede in Otukpo has been well-documented by Changing Attitude, amply supported by photographic evidence. We will publish further photographs shortly.

Davis continues to be a faithful Anglican and despite your attempts to discredit him remains committed and active. He is a registered member of the two churches we identified on 16 January 2006 and continues to worship regularly and discretely in Anglican churches.

Tunde, you should by now be very ashamed of the disclaimer you published. You have published totally unsubstantiated, malicious allegations against Davis. Davis has no need to produce evidence because the allegations are false. He has repeatedly denied them.

The responsibility lies with you and the present bishop of Otukpo to produce any evidence you have which you think may support your allegations. We would like to know what legal advice prevents you from making such evidence available to the public now, when you would have to produced it in court.

The allegations are serious. They involve accusations of the theft of documents and money. Why isn’t the Church interested in prosecuting Davis for such serious crimes? If you are not going to prosecute and produce evidence, then please withdraw the allegations. Not to do so makes it appear that the allegations were made maliciously with the intention of destroying Davis’s reputation.

We also wonder that the answer might be to your prayers that you are hoping for in relation to Davis. Do you hope and pray that he will be arrested or killed and removed from your world as someone who is causing you serious problems and embarrassment? Or ar the prayers that Davis will return publicly to Otukpo to be welcomed with open arms by a forgiving and gay-friendly church?

Wrong about the legal process
You are wrong and confused about the nature of due legal process. When allegations are made against a person, the evidence needs to be presented in court where a defence can also be mounted, and a judge or jury assess the innocence or guilt of the person. Your allegations are unfounded and untrue. You have produced no evidence. Davis has denied the allegations. He is innocent.

The Listening Process
Tunde, you also misunderstand the nature of the Anglican Communion’s commitment to the Listening Process.

It has nothing to do with lesbian and gay people registering a complaint in the Primate’s office that their pastor has refused to listen to them or help them. Homosexuality is not a problem per se for lesbian and gay people. Homosexuality is a problem for the Church which manifests deeply homophobic, prejudiced attitudes. As a result, the Church becomes a problem for lesbian and gay people who are subject to misunderstanding, prejudice and abuse.

Neither does the Listening Process have anything to do with whether or not Davis MacIyalla has responded to an invitation from you. He has no need to “explain” himself to you or anyone else. Davis is not answerable to you for anything. Was your invitation to Davis extended in a personal letter to him, or are you referring to an invitation made in a public media forum?

You are the Director of Communication for the Church of Nigeria. The Listening Process is a commitment made by the Councils of the Anglican Communion in the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10, the Windsor report and the Primates’ communiqué, “to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and … to assure them that they are loved by God”. Paragraph 146 of the Windsor report reminds the Communion that “Christians of good will need to be prepared to engage honestly and frankly with each other on issues relating to human sexuality … (and) establish processes and structures to facilitate ongoing discussion.”

The commitment is to listen, not to ask lesbian and gay people to come and talk about our problems or explain ourselves, but listen to our experience and truth.

Tunde, you are revealing that the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has very little understanding of the Listening Process or of how you would appropriately listen to the experience of lesbian and gay Anglicans in Nigeria. Canon Philip Groves, appointed to facilitate the Listening Process will, we hope, be able to provide all Provinces of the Communion with examples of best practice in listening, and practical advice and support.

As an officer of your Church, I am sure you are in a position to explain how the Church of Nigeria is responding in appropriate ways to the commitment made by Archbishop Peter Akinola and the bishops gathered at the Lambeth Conference in 1998 to listen to the experience of lesbian and gay people.

Lesbian and gay Anglicans across the world will want to know in two years time at Lambeth 2008 what action the Church of Nigeria has taken to listen to her lesbian and gay members. Tunde, your Church has tens of thousands of lesbian and gay worshippers, in the congregation, choir, and as lay readers and Sunday school teachers in every parish. You imply that they have a responsibility to identify themselves to you and register complaints with church authorities when they are mistreated. They do not have any such responsibility and would be well advised to remain discrete members in the light of the recently published Bill to which the church is supporting.

Confronted by such hostile legislation and the accompanying support from the Church lesbian and gay Anglicans are right to maintain a hidden presence in the Church and in Nigerian society. The makes the ability to implement the Listening Process all the more problematic and you are actively contributing to the difficulty.

Instead of publishing yet further attempts to discredit Sir Davis MacIyalla and undermine his reputation as a committed and active member of the Church of Nigeria, you would be better advised to tell us how you are going to respond to the authoritative commitment made by your Primate to listen to lesbian and gay members of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).

Colin Coward