Gospel singer Kirk Franklin did not mince words as he criticised the pastor of a church in Kansas who planned to protest the funerals of two men who were tragically killed during the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando.
"So a church from Kansas called Westboro is planning on picketing the funerals of 2 men killed n the Orlando massacre? Let me address," Franklin writes on his Twitter account (@kirkfranklin). "Whoever your pastor is, he is the dumbest, most hateful ignorant man to ever lead ANY church. There is NO form of Godliness in this act."
Franklin adds that the church's plan to picket these men's funerals is "a continuing issue of why the world sees us as hateful and judgmental."
Instead of protesting these funerals, Franklin says the members of Westboro Baptist Church should picket against his concerts instead.
"For the first time, we get to show Christ's unconditional love. You fill it with hate and disease. PLEASE PLEASE respond! Please show up to one of my concerts protesting... PLEASE! We love Jesus, but... Just please come. This is a sad day for the faith I love. Read the ENTIRE Bible, and let those parents bury their children."
The fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church is aggressively anti-gay, and known for its extremist and offensive methods in propogating its stance against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
The Orlando terror attack, perpetrated by 29-year-old Omar Mateen, claimed the lives of 49 individuals and injured 53 others.
The government-level response has divided America. President Barack Obama condemned the attack as an act of terror and hate, but evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham said it should have been denounced as an act of radical Islamic terrorism.
"Mr. President, with all due respect, don't forget Fort Hood; don't forget the Boston Marathon; don't forget San Bernardino; and don't forget 9/11. What do they all have in common? They were all Islamic terrorists carrying out their treachery in the name of their religion," he writes on his Facebook page.
