Mr. President, “what is your position on LGBTQ+?”: Catholic Bishop in Ghana in Open Letter

In the considered opinion of Bishop Osei-Bonsu, President Akufo-Addo failed to answer the question that Jane Dutton of Aljazeera had posed.

The Ghanaian President needed to make “reference to Section 104 of the Ghanaian Criminal Code of 1960 which criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual acts between persons of the same gender,” the immediate former President of the Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference (GCBC) says.

He adds that the Ghanaian Head of State “should have used the occasion to instruct the journalist about why homosexuality is not accepted in Ghana for religious, cultural and health reasons”.

The Catholic Church leader goes on to make reference to the March 27 Press Conference that the President of Ghana had with the U.S. Vice President in Ghana’s capital, Accra, with particular focus on a question that a New York Times journalist posed on LGBTQ+

He faults President Akufo-Addo for making “unfortunate” remarks about “the draft bill on the ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021' that is before parliament” and for missing “a fine opportunity to correct Kamala Harris on her understanding of human rights.”

Ghana’s President, understanding that the Bill before Parliament has “already been modified” following the intervention of the country’s Attorney General, had “been debunked” by a legislature, Bishop Osei-Bonsu tells the Head of State in his April 3 open letter.

He continues, “Mr. President, your statement that the Bill had been championed by ‘only a handful of MPs’ is unfortunate.”

“I would like you to realize that the ‘handful of MPs’ spoke for over 80 percent of Ghanaians who abhor homosexuality,” the 75-year-old Bishop who has been at the helm of Ghana’s Konongo-Mampong Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in 1995 says.

He explains, “A survey conducted by the Africa Centre for International Law and Accounting (ACILA) revealed that over 80 per cent of Ghanaians are against the normalization of homosexuality in the country.”

“Your Excellency, you also added that if the Bill was passed, it still had to be ratified by you. That is correct, but I hope that you are not entertaining any idea of not approving it. lf you do, you and your government will incur the wrath of at least 80 percent of Ghanaians,” the Catholic Church leader warns.

On the assertion by the U.S. Vice President that LGBTQ+ is a human rights issue, Bishop Osei-Bonsu says that President Akufo-Addo “should have let her know that in dealing with this Bill, the Parliament of Ghana is not violating any human rights but affirming what is consistent with natural law and order.”

While the Ghanaian Catholic Bishop admits that people with heterosexual and homosexual orientations are entitled to human rights, including “the right to life, personal liberty and due process of law: to freedom of thought, expression, religion, organization, and movement…”, he clarifies that “the rights of homosexuals as persons do not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman.”

“We need to stress that LGBTQT activities are not part of what are described as fundamental human rights and cannot be included in the list of human rights,” Bishop Osei-Bonsu says, adding that LGBTQT activities go “against natural law and order.”

He emphasizes, “Every human right must be founded on fundamental needs to support human nature and survival. Same-sex marriages and activities rather work against this principle of human Life and existence.”

“For us Christians. and that includes you, Your Excellency, same-sex marriage is morally wrong and goes against God's purpose for marriage,” the Catholic Bishop says.

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He continues, “Your Excellency, please let Kamala Harris know that the ‘gospel’ of homosexuality that she and others in America are preaching to us in Africa is not accepted by all Americans. Let her finish converting those in America who do not accept that ‘gospel’ before she comes to preach it here.”

In his April 3 open letter, Bishop Osei-Bonsu lauds the Ghanaian President for making known his “position on same-sex marriage unambiguously” during a 27 February 2021 event in the Church of the Province of West Africa (CPWA).

“Indeed, you gave the assurance, to the excitement of many at the ceremony (including my good self!), that it would not be under your presidency that same-sex marriages would be legalized,” the Catholic Church leader recalls, adding that the Ghanaian President had been emphatic and unequivocal “in what could be described as your strongest position yet.”

The remarks that President Akufo-Addo has made in various contexts on the issue of LGBTQ+ do not seem to show consistency, the Catholic Bishop laments in his April 3 four-page open letter in which he also demonstrates how previous Heads of State have been consistent and unambiguous on homosexuality and same-sex orientation.

Bishop Osei-Bonsu adds that he “would be most grateful if you (President Akufo-Addo) could state unequivocally what your position on LGBTQ+ is. I request this because many Ghanaians are not sure of your position on this matter.”

“President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, my question is: what is your position on the question of LGBTQ+?” the Local Ordinary of Ghana’s Konongo-Mampong Catholic Diocese poses.