Bishop Alfred Owens apologized Thursday for offending gay advocates, but not for his homophobic beliefs, and he promised to continue sermonizing on “hell and sin.”
In a letter to the editor in The Washington Post, Owens, pastor of Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church, issued a quasi-apology for his anti-gay Palm Sunday sermon, when he said only a “real man” can confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, “no faggot or no sissy.”
Mayor Anthony Williams on Wednesday condemned the sermon and said he would remove Owens from the District’s Interfaith Council, on which he serves as an honorary member, without a mea culpa.
“During my Palm Sunday sermon, I used words that the D.C. Coalition of Black, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Men and Women has denounced as offensive,” Owens wrote. “It was not my purpose to wound anyone or discriminate against any group, and I apologize for any offense.”
Owens went on to say he will not submit his sermons “through political filters for fear of recrimination by political or social groups.”
“On any given Sunday, I preach about love, faith and holiness, and, yes, about hell and sin,” he wrote. “For that, I offer no apology.”
Vince Morris, Williams’ spokesman, said the fact that Bishop Owens “recognizes he needed to apologize is a good start.”
Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church
» 610 Rhode Island Ave. NE
» 7,000 members
» Provides drug abuse rehabilitation, food and clothing banks and an HIV/Aids ministry
