The Salvation Army Australia is apologizing for an official’s comments suggesting that the charitable Christian organization believes homosexuals should be put to death.

Maj. Andrew Craibe, media relations director for Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory, found himself in the middle of a public-relations firestorm for comments he made on a gay-oriented Australian radio show last week.

Appearing on the “Salt and Pepper” radio program, Craibe was asked about the Salvation Army’s position on homosexuality and a section in its “Handbook of Doctrine” that cites a Biblical passage -- Romans 1:18-32 --  containing a condemnation of homosexuality. The passage mentions that in God’s eyes, “those who practice such things are deserving of death.”

One of the radio hosts, Serena Ryan, expressed concern over the passage and asked, “How do you respond to that as part of your doctrine?”

Craibe responded: “Well, that’s a part of our belief system. We have an alignment to the Scriptures that that’s our belief.”

Later, Ryan again pressed Craibe on the issue “Honestly, Andrew, tell me, as a human being, how can you qualify that?”

Craibe replied: “Well, I qualify by way of, that’s where my belief system is structured, you know? It’s what it comes down to, that salvation story, and that we can be redeemed from that. That’s my belief.”

On Saturday, two days after the interview, Salvation Army Australia issued a statement seeking to clarify its stance on gays and lesbians.

“This is a misunderstanding of the text referred to. The Scripture in question, viewed in its broader context, is not referring to physical death, nor is it specifically targeted at homosexual behavior. The author is arguing that no human being is without sin, all sin leads to spiritual death (separation from God), and all people therefore need a Saviour,” the statement said.  

“The Salvation Army acknowledges that the response in the interview has led to a serious misunderstanding of our teaching and that clarification should have been given during the interview.”

The statement added: “The Salvation Army sincerely apologises to all members of the GLBT community and to all our clients, employees, volunteers and those who are part of our faith communities for the offence caused by this miscommunication.”

The Salvation Army bills itself as one of the world’s largest Christian social welfare organizations, with more than 1.65 million members working in at least 123 countries.

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In a landmark decision in post-apartheid South Africa, four men were given 18 years in jail on Wednesday for stoning and stabbing to death 19-year-old Zoliswa Nkonyana for living openly as a lesbian.

A crowd outside the court in Cape Town township cheered and danced after the sentencing was announced, the BBC News reported.

Mbulelo Dama, Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase and Luyanda Londzi -- juveniles when the crimes were committed - were convicted of Nkonyana's murder last year, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.  Five others were acquited.

While rights groups complained throughout the trial that proceedings were taking too long -- they took almost six years -- and involved more than 40 postponements, the verdict was a watershed, an official at a South African NGO that fights discrimination against gay, lesbian bisexual and trans-gender people told msnbc.com.

"It is the first case in South Africa where sexual orientation and identity was named and recognized as an aggravating factor in a murder trial," said Marlow Newman-Valentine, Deputy Director of Triangle Project.

The magistrate in the case said hatred and homophobia were clearly the motive for the killing, and Wednesday's sentence was meant to send out a signal that violence based on sexual orientation will not be tolerated, the BBC reported.

South Africa's constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual preference but homophobia is rife in the country. In addition, the country's female homicide rate six times the world average, according to a June-2011 study in The British Journal of Criminology.

Activists were "still hugely concerned" with the South African police's effectiveness when it came to dealing with these sorts of crimes, and their unwillingness or inability to follow proper procedures in many cases, he said.

"As the Triangle Project we are extremely happy about the outcome of this particular trial but we have a long way to," Newman-Valentine said.

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A Christian conservative politician who ran unsuccessfully for Alabama governor in 2010 has been secretly donating sperm to lesbians in New Zealand while doing earthquake relief work there, a newspaper reports.

Bill Johnson, 52, had donated sperm to at least nine women, and at least three became pregnant, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Johnson has spent most of this year in Christchurch doing earthquake relief work. He moved to Christchurch after the February quake without his wife Kathy, a two-time Mrs. America finalist, the newspaper reported Sunday.

billjohnson.org

Bill Johnson ran unsuccessfully for Alabama governor in 2010.

Johnson used the alias ''chchbill'' on online donor registries to meet women wishing to get pregnant. The women contacted by the Herald say they met him through different sites. A number of the women were in same-sex relationships.

According to the newspaper:

The Herald on Sunday approached Johnson on Thursday at a restaurant in Christchurch where he had just finished dining with one of the women he had successfully impregnated.

He said the urge to become a biological father was "a need that I have."

"I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world. When I married her I knew we couldn't have any more children. She had a hysterectomy 10 years ago.

"There is nothing my wife would want to give me more in the world than a child of my own."

• Read the full New Zealand Herald story

Johnson said he was not planning to tell his wife about the pregnancies until after the children were born.

Kathy Johnson declined to comment Sunday.

"This is a really, really difficult time for our family,” Kathy Johnson said in an email to the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register. “I'm still in disbelief and very hurt, and our family has a lot of healing to do.”

• Read local coverage from the Press-Register

According to the Press-Register, Johnson finished fifth among a field of seven candidates for governor in the 2010 GOP primary, capturing less than 2 percent of the vote. He ran as a conservative Christian who opposed gay marriage.