Nigerian Anglicans and Roman Catholics Join Government's Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act
The West is trying to make Nigeria "dumping ground" for "immoral practices" say Catholic bishops
Refusal to accept the scripture for what it is, authority for life and practice following God, says Anglican Archbishop
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
February 4, 2014
Roman Catholic leaders in Nigeria have joined Anglican leaders in condemning the West's interference in their Government's prohibition of same sex "marriage" and other related vices, urging the Nigerian Government "not to bow to international pressure in the promotion of unethical and immoral practice of same sex unions and other related vices."
Western governments and media around the world are attacking Nigeria's Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013, which outlaws same-sex "marriage" as well as propagandizing by the homosexualist lobby.
Nigerian Catholic bishops in Abuja this week issued a statement congratulating the government for the passage of the law praising Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's stand as "a courageous one and 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 and protection of the dignity of the human person."
Anglican Primate the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, leader of some 20 million evangelical Anglicans, issued a statement praising President Jonathan for signing the Gay Bill into law and condemned his critics.
Under the new law, called the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, two people of same sex can be imprisoned up for 14 years for living together, or for 10 years for aiding such a relationship. The same goes for 10 years for direct or indirect public show of a same-sex amorous relationship or participating in or supporting gay organizations or meetings.
Archishop Okoh said those not in support of the bill are like Adam and Eve (Genesis 2-3), who questioned God for asking them not to eat the fruits from the Garden of Eden.
"Many people do not realize that what is referred to as the homosexual trouble is not the homosexual or lesbian trouble but people's refusal to accept the scripture for what it is, authority for life and practice following God," the archbishop said.
"Nigeria is on pilgrimage to an appointed destination in Africa and the world. God cannot make a mistake of creating a large number of people and place them in a place called Nigeria without a purpose," he noted at a recent event where President Goodluck Jonathan was present. "Mr President, when it becomes tough, keep going. You should persevere, please don't give up. You must get to the top. You must ensure that you lead the people to the destination God has planned for them."
The president of the Nigerian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, wrote the president saying that the government's decision "not to bow to international pressure in the promotion of unethical and immoral practices of same sex union and other related vices" is "a courageous one and 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 and protection of the dignity of the human person."
The new law, signed January 7th by President Jonathan, allows for up to 14 years in prison for attempting to create a same-sex "marriage" or civil union. The law makes it an offense to "perform, witness, aid, or abet" such a ceremony. It also specifies that gay "marriages" or civil unions contracted in other countries will not be recognised in Nigeria, and prohibits public displays of a "same-sex amorous relationship," the operating of "gay clubs," adoption of children by homosexuals, and curtails the work of the international gay lobby to agitate for changes in the law.
Archbishop Kaigama added, "We commend you for this courageous and wise decision and pray that God will continue to bless, guide and protect you and your administration against the conspiracy of the developed world to make our country and continent, the dumping ground for the promotion of all immoral practices, that have continued to debase the purpose of God for man in the area of creation and morality, in their own countries."
This is not the first time the Catholic bishops of Nigeria have praised the government's efforts to stem the influence of the homosexualist ideology. In 2011, the bishops praised a law outlawing same-sex unions and public displays of homosexual activity.
The law was also defended by Nigeria's government AIDS prevention agency, which said, "Nothing in the same sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 refers to or prohibits programs targeted at Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support for people living with HIV or affected by AIDS in Nigeria. No provision of this law will deny anybody in Nigeria access to HIV treatment and other medical services.
"The Government of Nigeria remains fully committed to improving the health of Nigerians and preventing all AIDS related deaths, and therefore will continue to ensure that Nigerians have access to the requisite services that they may require as guaranteed by the constitution."
The law was created in response to the growing number of countries that recognize same-sex unions. Homosexualists have long urged their activists to enter into legal unions in one country and then emigrate in order to demand legal recognition in countries without similar legal concepts.
However, the law has been blasted around the world by leading politicians, clergy and media outlets resulting in the Nigerian government issuing a statement that they would rather refuse foreign aid than accept the requirement that they adopt the West's sexual ideologies.
At the 2009 African Synod at the Vatican, Nigerian bishops were among who told the world's press that the West must stop pushing "lethal ideologies" on many African countries. Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, Archbishop of Lagos in Nigeria said that family life in Africa is "disintegrating through divorce, unfaithfulness and Western ideologies that are incompatible" with African cultural values.
PUSHBACK
However, both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to the presidents of Nigeria and Uganda after being asked about laws there penalizing gay people. Archbishop Welby's letter said gay people were loved and valued by God and should not be victimized or diminished.
The letter was addressed to all primates in the worldwide Anglican Communion. They said the letter was a result of "questions about the Church of England's attitude to new legislation in several countries that penalizes people with same-sex attraction."
African Anglican Archbishops have fought back citing support from the 2005 Dromantine Communique, Lambeth 1:10 both of which committed the Anglican Communion to the pastoral support and care of homosexual people. They wrote, "The victimization or diminishment of human beings whose affections happen to be ordered towards people of the same sex is anathema to us. We assure homosexual people that they are children of God, loved and valued by Him and deserving the best we can give - pastoral care and friendship."
CLASH OF CIVILIZATION
University of Lagos professor of international law and jurisprudence, Akin Oyebode, said the Western threat against Nigeria is inconsequential and be ignored. "It is another instance of the clash of civilisation. Western countries' civilization is on a downward spiral and it intends to take people along to its doom," Oyebode said.
According to him, it is good that Nigeria is insisting to go to heaven on its own way, more so, in a situation where propriety or morality is culture specific-and geography bound. The law makes intra-gender anal sex by males a crime, regardless of consent. It prohibits "acts of gross indecency and exhibition of sexual behavior between and among men in private or in public."
FUTURE OF ANGLICAN COMMUNION IN QUESTION
The stand taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury will only further alienate biblically faithful Global South Anglicans from the Church of England, and strain further already strained relationships to breaking point.
Archbishop Justin Welby says he recognizes civil partnerships while rejecting gay marriage, a distinction without a difference to African Anglicans who see any sort of sexual behavior outside of marriage between a man and a woman as anathema to their history, Africa and the Bible.
END