Nigeria’s Catholic Bishops Will Not Bless Same-sex Marriages
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has said that Catholic Churches in the country would not bless same-sex unions.
The bishops said the blessing of the same-sex union is against God’s law, the teachings of the church, and the law of the country.
They made this known in a statement released and signed by the President of the conference, Lucius Ugirji and the Secretary, Donayus Ogun on Wednesday.
They said, “The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria assures the entire People of God that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage remains the same. There is, therefore, no possibility in the teaching of the Church of blessing same-sex unions and activities.
That would go against God’s law, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation, and the cultural sensibilities of our people.
The bishops, however, stated that Pope Francis’s permitting of the blessing of same-sex marriage was misinterpreted.
DAILY IMPACT report that Pope Francis officially permitted priests to bless same-sex and “irregular” couples, under certain circumstances.
Clarifying the Pope’s statement, the bishops said, “The declaration seeks to clarify the different forms of blessing that can be given to persons and objects in the Catholic Church, including the possibility of blessing persons 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.
