Religion
By Anthony Isibor
THE Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has said that same-sex unions and activities shall not receive the blessing of the Catholic Church.
The group in a statement signed on Wednesday by Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri, and Bishop Donatus Ogun of Uromi, the President and Secretary respectively of the CBCN, said that the clarification became necessary following various misinterpretations of the declaration.
According to them, blessimg same sex marriage will go against God’s Law, the teachings of the Church, “the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people”.
The Catholic Bishops, who expressed concerns over the misinterpretations of “Fiducia Supplicans”, explained that the declaration on the Pastoral meaning of blessings, “Fiducia Supplicans”, by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith only seeks to clarify the different forms of blessings that can be given to persons and objects in the Catholic Church.
The Bishops also assured the entire People of God that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage remains the same.
The CBCN explained that although the Declaration reiterates the Catholic Church’s perennial teaching on marriage as an “exclusive, stable and indissoluble union of a man and woman, naturally open to the generation of children”, it, however, emphatically stated that the Church does not have the power to impart a blessing on irregular unions.
The Bishops added that the document also explains the different forms of blessings that can be given to persons, including the possibility of blessing in irregular unions.
“Such unions include but are not limited to divorced and remarried couples whose previous marriages had not been annulled, those living in same-sex unions, those in polygamous unions, in concubinage, etc.”
It further explained that the Declaration acknowledges and carefully distinguishes between ritual, liturgical, and informal blessings.
“While ritual or liturgical blessings are imparted according to the established norms of the Church, informal blessings refer to prayers over people who ask for them outside the liturgy or any formal celebration in the Church. The Declaration offers a consideration of the possibility of extending the informal blessing to all God’s children, irrespective of their moral condition, when they ask to be blessed.
“Nevertheless, the Declaration insists that the blessing of persons in irregular unions — and never the union itself — can only take a non-liturgical form to avoid confusion. It should not be imparted during or in connection with a civil wedding ceremony or with clothing, words, and signs associated with a wedding,” it said.
Realnews reports that Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Oyo, while also reacting to the development, added that the declaration of Fiducia Supplicans on Dec. 18, is a follow up to the dicastery’s declaration of 2021, known as “Responsum” which opposed such a blessing and did not go down well with decadent European countries which had embraced same-sex unions.
According to him, the official position of the Catholic Church is that LGBTQ rights should not be entertained on earth.
He stated that one sure fact in the declaration is that it does not change the Church’s teaching on the irrevocable validity of Christian marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
“Please study the document. My initial stand is that a blessing can only be pronounced on whatever follows God’s will as the Church has always taught.
“Any attempt to attenuate that meaning of a blessing to encompass so called formal and informal forms is a contradiction in terms.
“Please let us speak up and teach our faithful as every priest has a duty to do; and not parrot what the media say, as a few have been doing already.
“The times are critical and our people die for lack of knowledge,” Badejo said.
Similarly, Rt. Rev. Oluyinka Akande, Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West, Methodist Church Nigeria, added that sex is given by God as an expression of love to be shared and enjoyed exclusively between a husband and wife.
Akande noted that the Bible leaves no room whatsoever for confusion or ambiguity where homosexual behaviour is concerned.
“We see no place for same sex within the context of a Christian worldview. Jesus, when expressing his understanding of the scriptural foundation for the divine purpose for marriage, referred to its origin in the creation account.
“From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2: 24), what other evidence do we still need against practice of same sex,” he said.
Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, Chairman, Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, who also reacted to the misinterpretation of the document during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, added that the Pope has directed all bishops and priests in the world to condemn the barbaric and satanic acts called Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender And Queer (LGBTQ) rights.
According to him, the document, known as “Fiducia Supplicants”, is all about blessing in general, but not particular on blessing of gay marriage.
“What the document has said is not about an approval of same sex marriage,” Akinyemiju said.
Realnews recalls that the document, which was released by Pope Francis on Monday has received several interpretations including that it means “the acceptance of gay marriages by the Catholic Church”.
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-December 21, 2023 @ 09:12 GMT|
Tags: Anthony Isibor Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji Bishop Donatus Ogun of Uromi Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria Fiducia Supplicans Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo Rt. Rev. Oluyinka Akande
