African Catholic Bishops Call Homosexuality a Ruthless Form of Colonization

categories: Catholic LGBT, International Gay Rights

Published October 12, 2009 @ 12:39PM PT

Africa globe

There are plenty of American Catholic bishops who have long transferred from the religious train to the crazy train, as they pontificate around the country for Catholics to discriminate against LGBT people. Now a group of African Catholic bishops are joining in spreading global homophobia, by saying that homosexuality poses a direct threat to the stability of the African continent.

The bishops, members of the special Synod of Bishops for Africa, are meeting for a three-week gathering to talk about the role of the Catholic faith in Africa. Sadly, it looks like the bishops are all too eager to tie discrimination to their faith -- all the more tragic in a continent where many countries, from Sudan to Nigeria, still put people to death for being LGBT.

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, South Africa, may take the prize for most outrageously homophobic statement, by saying that homosexuality is a threat to the health of the African continent.

"[Africa's traditional cultural values] are threatened by the new global ethic which aggressively seeks to persuade African governments and communities to accept new and different meanings of the concepts of family, marriage and human sexuality," Bishop Tlhagale said, according to Catholic News Service. "Africa faces a second wave of colonization, both subtle and ruthless at the same time."

What a stupid statement. It's theologically inept, and worse, it's likely to result in violence. For a Church that's supposed to celebrate the concept of peace, the Bishop's statement is the furthest thing from it.

(Photo courtesy of ^@^ina {back from Africa}'s photostream on Flickr.)

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Comments (3)

It's unfortunate that intolerant Catholic Bishops have formed the Synod of Bishops for Africa for the purpose of spreading homophobia in that continent. The bishops don't know about equality and are spreading nonsense in that the LGBT rights movement is another wave of colonialism. It's also unfortunate that the death penalty and prison sentences can be applied to homophobia in a lot of countries in Africa. Those laws must be repealed and equality must conquer intolerance.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 10/12/2009 @ 02:56PM PT
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I reckon that roman catholics all over are just gonna continue to let their brains rot rather than actually think about what theyre told and what theyre saying...

Pathetic.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/12/2009 @ 08:02PM PT
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I find it highly ironic that they claim stability at all. Africa hasn't been stabile in any sense since the Romans! And that was just northern Africa...

Posted by Fester 60613 on 10/13/2009 @ 07:58AM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.