Bishops of Africa challenge the Pope over blessing homosexual couples in church

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*coverage from Christian news media outlet, runs about 8 minutes

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African bishops: ‘No blessing for homosexual couples in the African Churches’​

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).


Jan 11, 2024

In response to new Vatican guidelines permitting nonliturgical pastoral blessings of homosexual couples, the bishops of Africa issued a united statement in which they said there will be “no blessing for homosexual couples in the African churches.”

The letter, issued Jan. 11, was written by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

The SECAM president began consulting all of African bishops shortly after December 18, the day the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issued Fiducia supplicans. He was trying to coordinate a collective response following strong initial reactions from some bishops' conferences in Africa to the blessings document.
Ambongo said that the letter is a synthesis of all the African bishops’ opinions.

In the letter, Ambongo said that while the African bishops “have strongly reaffirmed their communion with Pope Francis,” they “believe that the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals.”



Ambongo said the Vatican’s Fiducia Supplicans declaration, issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Dec. 18, “caused a shockwave” in Africa and “has sown misconceptions and unrest in the minds of many lay faithful, consecrated persons, and even pastors.”

In response, Ambongo said that the African bishops remind the faithful, “as Fiducia Supplicans clearly does,” that “the Church’s doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged.”

“For this reason, we, the African bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples because, in our context, this would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities,” the African cardinal said.

The letter is the first instance of the Church in an entire continent rejecting same-sex blessings as proposed in Fiducia Supplicans.

Ambongo said that the language used in Fiducia Supplicans is “too subtle for simple people to understand” and that it is “very difficult to be convincing that people of the same sex who live in a stable union do not claim the legitimacy of their own status.”

The letter goes on to list many more reasons why the African Church will not be offering same-sex couples blessings, citing multiple biblical passages. One of the passages cited by the African bishops is what they called the “scandal of the homosexuals in Sodom” in Genesis 19, which they said demonstrates that “homosexuality is so abominable that it will lead to the destruction of the city.”

In addition to the biblical reasons, Ambongo also said that “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.”

“The African Bishops’ Conferences emphasize that people with homosexual tendencies must be treated with respect and dignity, while reminding them that unions of persons of the same-sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the Church,” Ambongo said.

“Therefore,” he went on, “rites and prayers that could blur the definition of marriage — as an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, open to procreation — are considered unacceptable.”



According to Ambongo, the African bishops’ letter “received the agreement” of both Pope Francis and the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez.

Ambongo called on Christian communities “not to allow themselves to be shaken” by the confusion gripping the Church following the release of Fiducia Supplicans.

He reassured the faithful that “his holiness Pope Francis, fiercely opposed to any form of cultural colonization in Africa, blesses the African people with all his heart and encourages them to remain faithful, as always, to the defense of Christian values.”

 

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Full statement letter from SECAM

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[KnickstapeCity]

Them African nikkas was like…

 

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Pope Francis: Small ideological groups oppose same-sex blessings; Africa a ‘special case’​

Jan 29, 2024


Pope Francis suggested that the opposition to the Vatican’s approval of nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples mostly comes from “small ideological groups” with the exception of Africa, which he said is “a special case.”

“Those who vehemently protest belong to small ideological groups,” Francis said in an interview on Monday with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, according to an English translation from the Church-run Vatican News.

Regarding the bishops in Africa, who have expressed some of the strongest criticisms of such blessings, the pontiff said they are “a special case” because “for them, homosexuality is something ‘ugly’ from a cultural point of view; they do not tolerate it.”

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), led by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, published a declaration on Dec. 18, 2023, titled Fiducia Supplicans, which prompted the backlash. The declaration permits “spontaneous” pastoral blessings for “same-sex couples” and other couples in “irregular situations” but does not allow liturgical blessings, recognition of civil unions, or any actions that would make the blessings appear like a marriage.



Bishops around the world have been divided on how to implement the document or whether to implement it at all.

The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, which represents all of the African bishops’ conferences, is refusing to bless same-sex couples. In a statement, it said such blessings could not be carried out on the continent “without exposing themselves to scandals.”

The bishops’ conferences in Hungary and Poland similarly rejected any blessings for same-sex couples, as have various other bishops around the world.

Alternatively, the heads of the bishops’ conferences in other countries, such as Austria, Germany, and Argentina, have embraced the declaration and the opportunity to bless same-sex couples. Some other bishops’ conferences, such as the United States, have accepted the declaration but put a strong emphasis on ensuring that such blessings are not confused as a change in Church teaching.

Francis, in his interview, dismissed the idea that this division could spark a schism in the Catholic Church.

“In the Church, there have always been small groups that manifest reflections of a schismatic nature,” the pope said. “One must let them carry on and pass away... and look ahead.”





Francis said that he trusts that “gradually, everyone will be reassured about the spirit of the declaration,” which he said “aims to include; not divide.” He added that the declaration “invites us to welcome and then entrust people, and to trust in God.”

“The Gospel is to sanctify everyone,” the pontiff said. “Of course, there must be goodwill. And it is necessary to give precise instructions on the Christian life (I emphasize that it is not the union that is blessed, but the persons). But we are all sinners: Why should we make a list of sinners who can enter the Church and a list of sinners who cannot be in the Church? This is not the Gospel.”