The continent will reject any attempts to impose “apostasy” over same-sex marriage, Martin Ssempa believes
Pope Francis is attempting to force homosexuality on the Catholic Church in Africa, which could lead to major divisions, Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa has told RT in an exclusive interview.
Speaking to Italian newspaper La Stampa in an interview published earlier this week, the pontiff stated that Africans view homosexuality as “bad” from a cultural point of view, and claimed that the continent is a “special case” when it comes to LGBTQ blessings.
“But in general, I trust that gradually everyone will be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: it aims to include, not divide,” the Pope added.
Ssempa, who is a pro-family activist and founder of Straight Nation, an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting African culture and faith, compared what is happening in Africa to the Church of England. He said the clergy there spent years “going back and forth” on the issue of same-sex marriage blessings, supposedly in the hope that people would tire of the issue.
“I think that’s what Pope Francis is doing,” Ssempa claimed.
Nonetheless, Africans will reject any efforts by the pontiff to allow something “unbiblical,” the pastor insisted, adding “we see this as apostasy.”
He argued that it was not the African church that needs to change, but rather the attitude of the Pope, accusing him of trying to divide and dominate, as well as impose homosexuality on religion.
African nations “will in no way consider blessing homosexuals, because that would be a violation of the bible, of the word of God,” Ssempa concluded.
Couples who are not “valid” in the Catholic Church – such as unmarried, divorced-and-remarried, or homosexual – can be blessed under the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration, published last month.
Earlier in January, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) said permitting such rituals would cause “confusion” and would be in “direct contradiction” with the cultural values of African communities.
Meanwhile, many African countries can impose the death penalty or life imprisonment as possible punishments for same-sex activities. That includes Uganda, where homosexuality remains heavily criminalized.
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