Ghana’s Anti-Gay Bill In Right Direction- Catholic Bishops

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has lent its weight to the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” pending before Parliament.

The Conference in a statement said the bill is in the right direction as it tackles criminal homosexual acts and not homosexuals.

“The bill aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, and provide for the protection of children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities, and other persons,” it said as it delivered the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality premised on biblical and legal concepts.

Quoting Romans 1:26-27, Lev 20:13, Gen 19:1-28, 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10, the Conference said the act is condemned by the bible.

“For the Church, to choose someone of the same sex for one’s sexual activity or marriage is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of God’s sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life, and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living.”

That notwithstanding the GCBC noted persons with homosexual tendencies must be accorded with the needed fundamental human rights.

“With regard to the former, the Church does not condemn people for being homosexuals or for having the homosexual tendency. Homosexuals must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. The Church teaches that the intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law…Their being homosexuals does not mean that they should be treated like criminals.

“The Church insists that homosexuals, also created in the image of God, must enjoy the fundamental human rights that all human beings enjoy. By fundamental human rights, we mean the universal, inviolable and inalienable rights that are due to the human person as a rational being possessing a free will. Human rights protect, or are intended to protect, the dignity of the human person against State and Society.”

It comes after Cardinal Peter Turkson of the Roman Catholic church condemned the bill which seeks to impose a three-year prison sentence for identifying as LGBT, with up to 10 years for those advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

In an interview with the BBC, he called for sensitization about homosexuality.

“It’s time to begin education, to help people understand what this reality, this phenomenon is. We need a lot of education to get people to… make a distinction between what is a crime and what is not a crime.”