Ghanaian cardinal reaffirms support for LGBTQ+ community

A Catholic cardinal in Ghana has reaffirmed his support for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Peter Turkson has actively opposed the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ individuals, advocates, and organisations. He is among the few African cardinals to back the Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust) document that Pope Francis issued last year.

This document establishes specific conditions under which a priest or deacon may bless same-sex or unmarried heterosexual couples, according to ‘Washington Blade’.

In an interview with TV3 News, a Ghanaian television channel, Turkson expressed serious concerns about the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill currently under review by the Supreme Court.

The bill would intensify the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ individuals and make advocating for them illegal.

The measure was approved by lawmakers in February, but President Nana Akufo-Addo stated he would not sign it until the Supreme Court delivers its decision.

Turkson stated that homosexuality is not alien to Ghanaian culture and that those identifying as LGBTQ+ should be treated like everyone else.

“Who controls how one is born? And if one is born this way, how does it in itself constitute a crime? You criminalize them for what,” he questioned.

Turkson also stressed the importance of respecting diverse viewpoints, warning against criminalising identities.

Father Peter Knox from the Jesuit Institute in South Africa noted a strong denial in acknowledging African individuals who are attracted to the same sex.

“The fact that people of the same sex enter into a permanent, loving, supportive, stable, fruitful relationships is beyond the imagination of many Africans. The very notion runs contrary to what many theologians and pastors claim is African culture,” Knox stated.

Knox also questioned the labelling of homosexuality as a Western concept, pointing out that South Africa offers asylum to many LGBTQ+ Africans fleeing persecution.

“For decades South Africa has recognized the refugee status of people who are persecuted or whose lives are endangered because of their sexual orientation,” he remarked. “For those who do not try to make it to Europe, South Africa is often a second-best destination.”

He highlighted that one South African parish has a support group for LGBTQ+ parishioners.

“It is noteworthy that none of the members of the group are so-called Europeans. They all come from African countries,” he mentioned. “One also hopes for more prophetic protection of a severely marginalized group on this continent.”

Cardinal Maurice Piat of Mauritius, along with Turkson, is one of the continent’s 22 Catholic cardinals to publicly support LGBTQ+ people. Non-Catholic officials in Africa have largely disregarded Francis’s document.

Cardinal Stephen Ameyu, archbishop of Juba in South Sudan, stated that the church’s role is to show mercy to sinners. He raised questions regarding the blessings of same-sex marriages last December during a Christmas press event.

“The church takes mercy first. That’s why sometimes we are concerned about people who are criminals, people who have killed people. We turn to them in mercy,” said Ameyu. “So, the state of life that somebody lives does not exclude one from the concern of the church. Be merciful to others provide services to others who need the services, and the church can do a lot in order to convince people in their state of sins to come back to the church and be converted.”

Francis visited South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023.