Catholic teaching on “homosexuality” is clear - but has much, much more to say than just the well - known bits about genital acts.
First, there’s this, from the CDF “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons” (§10):
“It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church’s pastors wherever it occurs. “
Some of the most vicious anti-gay violence today is occurring in Uganda,fanned by the emotive rhetoric around the country’s new legislation. Ugandan gay men and lesbians are literally fearing for their lives, with many going into hiding, or fleeing the country as refugees. But instead of condemning the violence, as the CDF letter implores, Ugandan bishops appear to be encouraging it.
Uganda religious leaders, including Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, congratulate President Museveni for signing the anti gay bill
Francis DeBenardo of New Ways Ministry reported at Bondings 2.0 last week on three Catholic bishops who seem to have been guilty of this complicity in violence.
The O-blog-dee-O-blog-da site, maintained by Melanie Nathan, a respected lawyer, LGBT advocate, and journalist, reports that on Easter Sunday, Bishop Charles Wamika of the Jinja Diocese in Uganda
“called for a blessing for Uganda’s Christians who worked so hard to ‘free the land of gays.’ The Bishop also asked for parents to hand over their gay children to authorities, so they would be rewarded in heaven.”
Nathan cites an anonymous Ugandan gay man in hiding with reporting on Wamika’s statements.
A Ugandan newspaper, The Daily Monitor, did not mention Wamika in its report of Easter Sunday messages, but it did note that other Catholic bishops in that country also supported the new anti-gay law on Easter Sunday. The paper reported on the statement of Bishop Augustine Salimo of the Sebei Diocese:
In reference to the Anti-Homosexual Act, he also urged the government not to back down but to continue the right path pursued to protect values of Ugandans.
And a third bishop also praised the new law:
“In Tororo District, Bishop Emmanuel Obbo, the Archbishop of Tororo Archdiocese, urged every citizen who supported the anti-homosexuality law to lay down greed, corruption and ‘put them to death and let generosity rise up within us and flow out in abundance.
“ ‘In Christ, we have victory over dysfunctional relationships, bad habits, painful experiences, sexual temptation and devastating circumstances,’ he said.”
Instead of speaking up against violence and malice, they are fomenting it.
It’s just conceivable that this is a misrepresentation: earlier in his post, DeBenardo is careful to acknowledge that some of the reporting is unsubstantiated. It is also not entirely clear just what is meant by some of the words quoted above. However, what is absolutely clear is that far from condemning violence, the bishops are praising the legislation that is encouraging it. In doing so, they are directly contravening another important point in Church teaching, this one taken from the Catechism (§2358)
“They (homosexual persons) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” - Catechism, 2358. Where is their “respect, compassion and sensitivity” in this, let alone any semblance of opposing discrimination?
Nor are these examples of simple misspeak by a few rogue bishops. Jamie Manson noted in an earlier post at the National Catholic Reporter, that in their first response to the bill, the Catholic Bishops stated through a spokesman that they were “reserving judgement”, until they could make an educated statement. That “educated statement” included participation by the Archbishop of Kampala in a “thanksgiving ceremony” for the bill, in which President Museveni was presented with an engraved plaque in congratulation for his signature on the legislation.
No matter how much allowance we make for the possible misrepresentation of the bishops’ words about encouraging violence, no possible interpretation can see in them any hint of respect, compassion, or sensitivity
Openly gay Catholics like myself are frequently criticized, or even excluded from Church employment or ministry, for being in conflict with Church teaching - at least, with one part of it. Why then are Ugandan bishops allowed to so fragrantly disregard the other part of Catholic teaching, which is equally clear?
Pope Francis has famously described the Church’s responsibility to be a “field hospital for the wounded”. Far too often, the real -world experience of lesbian and gay Catholics is that instead of applying dressing to the wounds, the Church is the party inflicting those wounds. In Europe and the America’s, the wounds are usually spiritual and emotional. In Uganda, much of the rest of Africa, and sometimes elsewhere, the wounds may be literal and physical.
Manson describes how bishops in Nigeria, just like those in Uganda, have also been complicit, through their support for stronger anti-gay legislation, in encouraging violence against gay men and lesbians.
The situation in Uganda mirrors recent developments in Nigeria where, in January, President Goodluck Jonathan enacted a law that mandated 14 years in jail for anyone entering a same-sex union and a 10-year sentence for “a person or group of persons who … supports the registration, operation and sustenance of gay clubs, societies, organizations, processions or meetings.”
Though the law ignited a steep rise in attacks on LGBT people in the country, Nigerian Catholic bishops applauded Jonathan’s “courageous” decision and called his law “a clear indication of the ability of our great country to stand shoulders high in the protection of our Nigerian and African most valued cultures of the institution of marriage.”
The venom is spreading: in a later post at Bondings 2.0, Bob Shine notes that a Liberian priest “celebrated” Easter with an attack on the country’s president - for not attacking gay marriage, and that Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe (who speaks frequently about his strong Catholic faith) is using the lesson from Uganda, to shore up political support by fanning the flames of anti-gay hatred.
What can we do? Bob Shine suggests:
Granderson’s response is simple, yet challenging, and calls on Catholics to end the silence of church leaders. He writes:
“To move Pope Francis’ question from a global headline to global change, Christians must stop allowing silence to be the de facto weapon of choice against the senseless persecution of gay people.”
A good first step is participating in the #PopeSpeakOut campaign, to make your voice heard in Rome and elsewhere for Pope Francis to clearly condemn laws which encourage discrimination and violence against LGBT people. You can find more information on how to take action by clicking here.
Related articles
- Ugandan Bishops Support Anti-Gay Law, While Others Call Pope to Condemn It (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
- Why Has Pope Francis Been Silent on Anti-Gay Laws? (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
- Anglican bishops support Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill (thinkinganglicans.org.uk)
- English Bishop Apologises for Hurt to Gay People. (news.queerchurch.com)
- Anglican reactions to Nigerian and Ugandan legislation (thinkinganglicans.org.uk)
- Living in Prophetic Hope Workshop - London, 17 May (questgaycatholic.org.uk)
- The disordered language of LGBT teaching (queeringthechurch.com)
There have, as far as I am aware, been no official comments from Rome, let alone any condemnation of these statements. Whilst the need for discretion is acknowledged - as many LGBT people living in these countries are in grave physical danger - the lack of comment from Rome does cause us to ponder what, if anything, the church is doing to bring these bishops into line with official teaching.