Bahamas Faith Ministries International President Dr. Myles Munroe told his congregation yesterday he has written Prime Minister Perry Christie, urging him and his delegation of Cabinet ministers not to sign on to anything that Bahamians are morally against during the CARICOM meeting they are attending in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Munroe made the statement in a sermon as he again hit out at Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, resuming his call for Mitchell to be removed from his Cabinet post over his stance on gay rights.

Munroe spoke to his congregation hours before Christie, Mitchell and others were set to head to the 25th inter-sessional meeting of CARICOM heads of government.

However, there is no indication that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues are on the agenda.

"We have to pray for our prime minister because [today] this gentleman [Mitchell] and our prime minister will be behind closed doors talking to CARICOM," Munroe said.

Munroe said he wrote to Christie on Saturday expressing his concerns. "I wanted to make sure that the prime minister got the letter early enough to take it with him so he could share it with his colleagues, that there are some Bahamians who don't want him to sign anything without us knowing before they sign it," he said.

Munroe and Mitchell have been at odds since the religious leader spoke out against Mitchell's support of LGBT issues. During his sermon, Munroe said, "I find it amusing that people consider a person's conviction as an attack.

"I find it very amusing that people consider your belief system as ignorant." He was referring to statements Mitchell made to the media last week that "ignorance is a strange thing".

Mitchell made the statement in reference to Munroe's earlier call for the prime minister to replace him over recent comments he made on LGBT issues.

During his sermon yesterday, Munroe referenced Parliament's decriminalization of buggery in 1989 and a law change that made consensual sex between gay men, and between lesbians legal in 1991.

"I remember some years ago we were ignorant . . .concerning what was going on in Parliament when they discussed the issue of the legalization of homosexuality and lesbianism in our country," Munroe said.

"And they also discussed buggery and then they came back and said 'Why didn't you all say anything?' Well, we didn't know what was going on and that's why I feel it very important to talk about this now."

Munroe also suggested to his congregation that gay sex is unnatural in the eyes of God, although it may be pleasurable. He said that sex is a biological function for reproduction.

"Nothing is made just for pleasure, so when me and you get together as a male we could have pleasure but we can't function," Munroe said. "That's why it's called malfunctioning."

Munroe repeatedly referenced a lecture that Mitchell gave at the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago last month, which was also printed in The Nassau Guardian.

In that lecture, Mitchell suggested it is time that CARICOM's charter be updated to ensure that a person cannot be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation.

"What is important is that our leaders have already begun the conversation and that conversation should continue," Mitchell said in the address.

"That conversation should be underpinned with the principles of tolerance and the protection of the law for another disadvantaged group." Munroe took issue with the statement.

"You cannot represent me internationally and perhaps make decisions that are against not just my convictions, but maybe most of The Bahamas," Munroe said. "The last time I remember, every representative in our government is supposed to represent the people."

He added: "He is speaking to a foreign country, in a foreign environment. We don't know what's being said. He may be indicating to them that we are having a discussion at home; we are not discussing this yet." Mitchell said yesterday Munroe's latest comments were "nonsense".

"The problem is that he is again dallying in ignorance because he is speaking about something which he does not understand and is deliberately confusing," Mitchell said. "This is not my personal opinion I never mentioned any personal opinion so it's idiotic, it's stupidity."

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