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African bishops say Vatican's same-sex blessings 'not appropriate'

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Agence France Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="People attend the Pride March to show support to members of the LGBT community, in Milan, Italy, June 24, 2023. Mourad Balti Touati, EPA-EFE/File." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/12/18/121823_pride.jpg"/><figcaption>People attend the Pride March to show support to members of the LGBT community, in Milan, Italy, June 24, 2023. <em>Mourad Balti Touati, EPA-EFE/File.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>ACCRA, Ghana - African Catholic bishops said on Thursday the Vatican&#x27;s recent approval of blessings for same-sex couples was not appropriate on the continent because it contradicted &quot;the cultural ethos of African communities&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/12/18/23/vatican-authorizes-blessings-for-same-sex-couples-with-caveats">Vatican authorizes blessings for same-sex couples, with caveats</a></li></ul><p>Homosexuality is still illegal in many religiously conservative African countries and many have a history of stigma and repression, sometimes encouraged by conservative Muslims and Christians.</p><p>Last month, the Catholic Church said priests could bless &quot;irregular&quot; and same-sex couples under certain circumstances, in a decision seen by conservatives as backtracking on gay marriage and homosexuality, which the Church opposes.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2906081" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>&quot;The Church&#x27;s doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged,&quot; the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said in a statement from Ghana&#x27;s capital Accra.</p><p>&quot;For this reason, we, the African Bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples.&quot;</p><p>SECAM represents Catholic bishops across the continent.</p><p>The statement said that giving the blessings would cause &quot;confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities&quot;.</p><div><strong>&#x27;Against God&#x27;s law&#x27;</strong></div><p>The Vatican last week sought to clarify the document published in December, denying it strayed from doctrine while urging &quot;prudence&quot; in certain countries.</p><p>The clarification by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith came after an outcry by certain bishops, particularly in Africa.</p><p>The original document had cautioned that priests could only perform blessings for same-sex couples, divorcees, or unmarried couples in &quot;non-ritualized&quot; contexts, and never in relation to weddings or civil unions.</p><p>Initial opposition to the Vatican&#x27;s recent move has been particularly strong in Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia, as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p><p>&quot;We cannot hide the risk of confusion and scandal that the blessing of same-sex couples could generate within our local church,&quot; Ivory Coast archbishops and bishops said last month.</p><p>The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria also said there could be no possibility of the Church blessing same-sex activities or union in the country.</p><p>&quot;That would go against God&#x27;s law, the teachings of Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people,&quot; it said in a December statement.</p><p>Since his election in 2013, 87-year-old Pope Francis has sought to open the doors of the Church to all its faithful, including the LGBTQ community.</p><p>But his efforts have met with strong resistance among the traditional and conservative fringe.</p><p>Around 30 African countries currently ban homosexuality, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association or ILGA.</p><p>Uganda, Mauritania and several northern Nigerian states punish same-sex relations extremely harshly, with those accused possibly facing the death penalty.</p><p>South Africa is the only nation on the African continent to allow gay marriage, which it legalized in 2006.</p><p>Gay sex has been decriminalized in only a handful of countries: Cape Verde, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mozambique, and the Seychelles, according to ILGA.</p><div><strong>pma/lcm/bp</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2908344" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

African Catholic bishops said on Thursday the Vatican's recent approval of blessings for same-sex couples was not appropriate on the continent because it contradicted 'the cultural ethos of African communities'.