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Catholic bishops in Africa on Thursday rejected the Vatican’s call to bless same-sex couples, saying such action could expose the faithful in their region to “scandals.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, archbishop of Kinshasa and president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, issued the bishops’ announcement. Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved the announcement.
Bishops in Africa “do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples,” the announcement read. Such blessings “would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities.”
Cardinal Ambongo said priests in Africa are “encouraged to provide welcoming and supportive pastoral care, particularly to couples in irregular situations.”
While homosexuals are to be treated with dignity and respect, the cardinal said they should be reminded “that unions of persons of the same sex are contrary to the will of God and therefore cannot receive the blessing of the Church.”
Cardinal Fernández’s office on Dec. 18 issued a declaration on blessing individuals who are divorced and remarried without church sanction or in same-sex couples. Amid criticism and outrage among conservative clergy, the cardinal has released two clarifications that emphasized the liberty of local bishops to allow or prohibit such blessings.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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