By Paschal Norbert
OWERRI, JANUARY 23, 2024 (CISA) – With a continued and overwhelming opposition to the Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans (On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings) by African bishops, which admittedly allowed the blessing of individuals in same-sex unions, Catholic bishops of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province in Nigeria have reiterated their rejection to the document approved by Pope Francis.
The bishops in a communique issued on January 18 after a metropolitan meeting in Owerri noted that the document had elicited many reactions from the faithful, the African continent and the world due to its ambiguity and sense of undermining the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“That declaration seemed, on the other hand, to undermine that same teaching on the nature of blessings, and, on the other hand, to undermine that same teaching, especially on the application of blessings to ‘irregular’ unions,” the bishops stated.
“Given this ambiguity, the document quickly aroused mixed reactions of acceptance, sceptical reserve, and outright rejection from Episcopal Conferences and individual bishops across the world,” the prelates of Owerri of explained.
The bishops reaffirmed the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and that of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) not 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.”
“In furtherance of our pastoral and prophetic mission, we reject the blessing of same-sex unions in the Catholic Church in Nigeria. We reaffirm the teaching of the Church on Marriage as the exclusive, stable and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, open to procreation (Can.10550,” the bishops stressed.
The bishops, while not calling for the discrimination of persons on grounds of their sexual orientations but quoting 1 Cor. 6:9-11, stated that the call for ‘sinners’ to repent is still urgent.
“ Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander or are thieves – none of these will possess God’s kingdom,” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
Since the release of the document on December 18, 2023, many African bishops have voiced their opposition to the Vatican declaration and the voices of dissent may continue as many bishops’ conferences in the continent will be having their plenaries in the early months of the year.
