Sincere Apologies

Member of Parliament Tom Lukiwski was on the hot-seat yesterday because of a 17-year-old video tape showing him making deeply offensive, homophobic comments about gays and lesbians. Although Lukiwski has apologized and admitted that he was ashamed of what he said, opposition politicians are calling for his resignation from a key government position. A couple of comments have emerged since the release of the tape saying that while this happened nearly two decades ago, attitudes and character don't change.

This is simply untrue. The Lukiwski comments are nasty, but unfortunately many people made similar assertions about gays and lesbians during that era. Gay jokes were rife, even when racist and sexist humour was becoming off limits . A lot has happened in the past 15 to 20 years to change public perception about this kind of prejudice. Many of us, including those of us in Christian churches, have realized how deeply seated our negative stereotypes were and come to different conclusions. Even those who still have deep convictions about the morality of homosexuality have changed the way they speak and, hopefully, the way they think.

Our Christian faith is based on a conviction that our relationship with Christ can and will change us. Old prejudices and hatreds can give way to tolerance and acceptance. If Lukiwski's apology is sincere -- and it seems to be -- surely we can accept it and move on.