Pastor Rick Warren — the evangelical leader who spoke at Obama's inauguration despite outraged gay protests — is being linked to a proposal in the African country of Uganda to punish homosexuality with death. Martin Ssempa, a Ugandan pastor with close ties to Warren, has endorsed a law that would sentence homosexuals — and those who fail to report them — to long prison terms or even capital punishment. Though Warren says his connection to Ssempa ended in 2007, he "won't go so far as to condemn the legislation itself." Other American Christian leaders disagree, and are fighting the bill. If U.S. evangelicals helped spark this fire, do they have a responsibility to help put it out?
It's not my place to get involved: "It is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations," says Rick Warren, to Newsweek, even though "the fundamental dignity of every person … and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator."
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