African bishops refuse to bless homosexual couples

There will be no blessing of homosexual couples in African churches, the bishops announced in a statement released Thursday. The cultural context is particularly invoked.

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Pope Francis during a visit to DR Congo, February 2023. (Vatican Media / CPP / HANS LUCAS / Hans Lucas via AFP)

The conditional authorization to bless homosexual couples continues to divide the church. African bishops have just taken a common position. They detail it in a press release published Thursday January 11. Their answer is clear and clear: no.

This is a huge setback for Pope Francis. The African bishops reaffirm their unwavering attachment to him, but the title of their press release could not be clearer: no blessing for homosexual couples in African churches.

Pope Francis warned

“They cannot be done without exposing themselves to scandalsthey write, even if each bishop remains free in his diocese. They put forward two reasons. First, the teaching of the Bible and the church which judges homosexual unions contrary to the will of God. And second, the cultural context on the continent, where these unions are considered intrinsically “bad”.

This text signed by the very influential Cardinal Archbishop of Kinshasa received the agreement of the Pope, it is specified. In other words, Francis was warned of this bomb launched from a continent which represents nearly one in five Catholics in the world.


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