Black boys.
Objects of desire.
In the late-1960’s musical Hair there is a song titled “Black Boys” - it is a fun song with salacious lyrics, and when I first heard it on Broadway during the original cast production, for some reason my thoughts went straight to St. Charles Lwanga and his companion martyrs of Uganda. Thanks to the Sisters of St. Joseph, I was well acquainted with the Ugandan martyrs, and the reason they died. They died horrendous and tortuous deaths as martyrs of chastity rather than submit to the sexual seductions of their homosexual king.
The martyrs.
St. Charles Lwanga and Companions; The 22 Martyrs of Uganda. Martyred 1886-1887 One of the twenty two Ugandan martyrs who converted from paganism, Charles was the chief of the royal pages in the King’s court, as such he also was a moral force amongst his companions and became their leader even in death. He was the best athlete in the Kings Court and considered “the most handsome man of the Kingdom of the Uganda.” He instructed his compatriots in the Catholic faith and personally baptised the younger pages. Charles encouraged the boys and young men to live chastely and resist the homosexual advances of the perverted King Mwanga.
A superstitious pagan, Mwanga at first tolerated Christianity. Katikiro, a deputy in the Court convinced the King that the Christians were dangerous, persuading him that if they refused to offer sacrifice, partake in the the activities the King desired, and if they would not massacre or make war, they would be no good for the Kingdom, and if the Kingdom became Catholic, it would destroy the country. Charles was sentenced to death and accepted his sentence with great joy and peace. He was executed by being burnt to death, after first arranging his own pyre and laying down upon it. Never crying out in pain he simply twisted and moaned, “Kotanda! (O my God!).” He died June 3, 1886. Pope Paul VI canonized Charles Lwanga and his companions on June 22,1964. His feast day is June 3.
The stories of the other martyrs are as gruesome and terrible as the early Roman martyrologies. St Charles and companions suffered for the faith and for their refusal to commit mortal sin with the King through homosexual acts. In effect they were counter-cultural, not accepting of the status quo of the regime and policy of the country. In our day we need the courage to stand up for the truth and witness to our faith in this anti-Christian culture, which is bent upon enacting laws that offend Almighty God, not to mention common sense. The so-called homosexual agenda is intent upon changing our marriage laws and insisting that we accept the GLBT lifestyle as equal to the heterosexual lifestyle. At one time the push was simply for tolerance, now we are being asked to accept and believe that their orientation is equal to heterosexual relationships. The Church clearly teaches that the orientation is a disorder that inclines towards an intrinsic moral evil, and that homosexual acts themselves are gravely sinful.
