Jos, 27 September, 2022 / 8:40 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Belgium made “an error” in introducing the blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, Vatican-based Nigerian Catholic Church leader, Francis Cardinal Arinze, has said.
On September 20 Catholic Bishops in Belgium announced the introduction of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in the Western European country’s Dioceses. The Bishops of Flanders also published a liturgy for the celebration of homosexual unions for the Flemish-speaking parts of the bilingual country.
In a statement obtained by ACI Africa Monday, September 26, Cardinal Arinze says the path taken by the Catholic Bishops in Belgium is against the teachings of the Church, which says that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered”.
“Human beings have no power to change the order established by God the Creator,” Cardinal Arinze says in his statement dated September 24, and adds, “Even if the aim is to be pastorally helpful to homosexual couples, this is an error on the part of the bishops.”
The Nigerian-born Cardinal who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2002 to 2008 continues, “While persons with homosexual inclination are to be respected and not unjustly discriminated against, they, like every Christian and indeed every human being, are called to chastity.”
