East African Gazette
Kampala
The World is still in shock after the recent incident by Pope Francis formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy.
He insisted that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.
the documents from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage.
The new document repeats that condition and elaborates on it, reaffirming that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman. And it stresses that blessings in question must be non-liturgical in nature and should not be conferred at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with the clothing and gestures that belong in a wedding.
But it says requests for such blessings for same-sex couples should not be denied full stop.
It offers an extensive and broad definition of the term “blessing” in Scripture to insist that people seeking a transcendent relationship with God and looking for his love and mercy should not be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” as a precondition for receiving it.
“Ultimately, a blessing offers people a means to increase their trust in God,” the document said. “The request for a blessing, thus, expresses and nurtures openness to the transcendence, mercy, and closeness to God in a thousand concrete circumstances of life, which is no small thing in the world in which we live.”
He added: “It is a seed of the Holy Spirit that must be nurtured, not hindered.”
The document marks the latest gesture of outreach from a pope who has made welcoming LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy. From his 2013 quip, “Who am I to judge?” about a purportedly gay priest, to his 2023 comment to The Associated Press that “Being homos3xual is not a crime,” Francis has distinguished himself from all his predecessors with his message of welcome.
“The significance of this news cannot be overstated,” said Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which supports LGBTQ+ Catholics. “It is one thing to formally approve same-gender blessings, which he had already pastorally permitted, but to say that people should not be subjected to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive God’s love and mercy is an even more significant step.”
What African Bishiop Say about Pope Francis directives
Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu , the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, warned youth not be doomed or overtake by western culture and believes that having an affair with their fellow men is holy, saying marriage, is legally and socially authorized union, usually between a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring
“How can a man be romantic to fellow man, have you even seen a male dog, goes for a male dog, even cockroaches understands that sex is between male and female, why human being cannot understand such simple logic “Kaziimba warned
Kazimba said this recently while presiding over the Busoga Royal wedding “doubled Embaga ya Mwenemu” that took place at Christ’s Cathedral Bugembe November 18, 2023
Kazimba said this yesterday November 18, 2023 while presiding over the Busoga Royal wedding “doubled Embaga ya Mwenemu” that took place at Christ’s Cathedral Bugembe.
In Uganda Homosexuality is illegal
The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni signed the anti- gay bill into law following improvements adopted to make it tougher for people engaging in LGBQT, Museveni signed the bill in May this year as one of the world’s toughest anti-Laws on LGTBQ including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” drawing Western condemnation and risking sanctions from aid donors.
The same-sex was already illegal in Uganda including 30 African countries and when finds in quality your entitled to maximum 10-year sentence.