Controversial self-proclaimed “Pope” Philbert London yesterday refused to address the widely circulated sex videos appearing to feature him, saying that his attorney would speak for him.
“Speak to my attorney… Jerome Khan…. No, I have nothing to say. He will speak for me,” London told Stabroek News when contacted yesterday.
Efforts to contact Khan proved futile as calls to a mobile number provided for him were not immediately answered.
London last week found himself at the centre of a sex scandal after the videos and photos featuring him went viral on social media.
London continues to trend both locally and internationally and media houses in the region have also been reporting on the scandal. Local social media continues to see numerous comments on the scandal.
Meanwhile, visits to London’s church have indicated a drop in attendance although some followers continue to support him.
Stabroek News twice visited the church, Beacon Ministries’ Miracle Centre, located on Joseph Pollydore Street, Georgetown. However, this newspaper was told by a member that it would not be possible to enter the church. “No you can’t go in,” the member said.
Neighbours informed that some church members have become hostile to persons visiting the church, especially the media. “They chasing away people and want to buse up and suh when they hear is any news body…them people believe in that man, you hear, and although you ain’t seeing the amount that used to come, some of them still coming and more vex than me and you,” one neighbour stated.
Stabroek News was told that London has been advised to keep a low profile and there is uncertainty about when he will return to the pulpit. However, according to a church member close to him, “Nah, he definitely won’t be giving up his church.”
Asked if fellow members are standing by London, the member responded, “Of course. Let him without sin cast the first stone.”
But People’s Progressive Party/Civic parliamentarian Juan Edghill, himself a Christian pastor who also calls himself Bishop, says that one cannot change the word of God to suit him- or herself.
“Whether it is the highest or the lowest, the standard that is set, we don’t change the word of God to suit the individual. The word of God is the word of God,” Edghill told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary forum held yesterday at the Marriott Hotel.
“So, to my Christian brothers and sisters and all those who might be offended, even in the non- Christian community, at this point as a Christian leader the only thing I can do is stand in the place of an intercessor and I identify with the pain and the agony that might be experienced …to say to the nation that we are sorry that this has brought great offence. We are sorry that this has probably shaken the fate of some of our younger followers. We are sorry that an example that was looked up to did not fulfill that expectation,” he added.
