Leaders of the continent’s Catholics say gay unions are ‘contrary to the will of God’
The Catholic bishops of Africa collectively rejected one of Pope Francis’ most controversial liberalizations—permission for priests to bless same-sex couples—saying that such blessings “would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities.”
The announcement on Thursday is in effect a rebuke to Francis and underscores global divisions over his conciliatory approach to homosexuality, which has become a signature issue of his reign.
“Unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the Church,” wrote Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Congo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar and a member of the pope’s advisory Council of Cardinals. Ambongo wrote that he was making his statement with the agreement of the pope and the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office.
Since the doctrinal office issued guidelines for the blessing of same-sex couples last month, reaction from church leaders around the world has varied widely, with welcoming statements from those in several Western European countries and expressions of concern and even protest elsewhere. Nowhere has the resistance been stronger than in Africa.
The Vatican’s declaration granting permission for the blessings “has caused a shock wave, it has sown misconceptions in the minds of many,” including members of the clergy, Ambongo wrote.
The cardinal stated that individual bishops were free to decide policy on the matter within their own dioceses, but that Africa’s bishops’ conferences “generally prefer…not to offer blessings to same-sex couples,” citing biblical injunctions against homosexual acts.
“In addition to these biblical reasons, the cultural context in Africa, deeply rooted in the values of the natural law regarding marriage and family, further complicates the acceptance of unions of persons of the same sex, as they are seen as contradictory to cultural norms and intrinsically corrupt,” Ambongo wrote.
Ambongo noted that the Vatican guidelines stress the difference between same-sex unions and marriage, which the church teaches can only be a union between a man and a woman.
The Rev. James Martin, a U.S. priest who runs a ministry to LGBTQ persons which has been commended by the pope, commented: “The Vatican’s declaration may be challenging, even threatening, in different cultural contexts, but I hope that all church leaders recognize the need to pastorally accompany same-sex couples, which is what the declaration calls for.”
