African bishops on Thursday (January 11) expressed displeasure against the Vatican’s recent decision to bless same-sex couples and said that it was not appropriate in Africa because it was contradictory to “the cultural ethos of African communities”.
In many conservative, religious African countries, Homosexuality is still illegal. In many countries, there is a history of stigma and repression associated with homosexuality.
The Catholic Church, last month, allowed priest to bless “irregular” and same sex couples under some circumstances. The conservative quarters saw this decision as a backtracking on gay marriage and homosexuality, which the Church still opposes.
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“The Church’s doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged,” the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said in a statement from Ghana’s capital Accra.
“For this reason, we, the African Bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples.”
SECAM represents Catholic bishops across the continent.
Its statement said that blessing same-sex couples may cause “confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities”.
Just last week, the Vatican attempted to clarify its decision taken last month. It denied that it had veered off the doctrine and at the same time, urged “prudence” in certain countries.
An outcry from bishops in Africa has elicited the clarification from the Church.
The initial document from the Church had said that same-sex couples, divorcees or unmarried couples could be blessed in ‘non-ritualized’ contexts and not in relation to weddings or civil unions.
The African countries that saw opposition to Church’s move include Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo among others.
“We cannot hide the risk of confusion and scandal that the blessing of same-sex couples could generate within our local church,” Ivory Coast archbishops and bishops said last month.
“That would go against God’s law, the teachings of Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people,” said The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.
Pope Francis (87) has been taking relatively liberal steps since his election in 2013. He has opened doors of the Church to faithfuls including those in the LGBTQ community.
(With inputs from agencies)
