The Vatican has said the Catholic Church and its priests cannot bless same-sex unions because God “cannot bless sin,”
The decision came as a piece of good news to the Christian Association of Nigeria.
It commended the Vatican for up-holding Bible tradition
The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said in a two-page statement on Monday published in USA Today that it was responding to questions about gay unions.
The two-page statement published in seven languages was approved by Pope Francis.
Part of it reads, “The blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit, There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”
The statement declares illicit any form of blessing that tends to acknowledge union of same-sex
CAN in its reaction expressed joy at the development.
“Our joy knew no bound when we learnt the decision of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) rejecting the same-sex union or marriage was endorsed by Pope Francis.” The body said in a statement signed by its Secretary, Bar. Joseph Bade Daramola
The statement reads further, “It is one decision too many. We agree with the Pope that the godly and timely decision is “not intended to be a form of unjust discrimination, but rather a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite”. CAN commends Pope Francis for standing by the Scripture that is superior to any civilization.
“That decision is the position of the Scripture as stated unambiguously in Genesis 9:20-27, Genesis 19:1-11, Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10.
“Whatever law that contradicts these passages of the Bible is totally unacceptable, reprehensible, and must be rejected. Even the practice is accursed to the animals, we wonder why normal human beings will be practicing it and we condemn it in strong terms.”
The statement also notes that “what is to be blessed needs to be “objectively and positively ordered to receive and express the grace, according to the designs of God inscribed in creation, and fully revealed by Christ the Lord.
“For this reason, it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.”
CAN then called on any government, especially in Africa, that has endorsed same-sex marriage to retreat from the practice. It commended the Nigerian government for resisting the pressure to reverse its earlier anti-same-sex policy and law.