Stop condemning homosexuals, they don’t deserve it – Catholic Bishops tell Nigerians

The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria, CBCN has
appealed to Nigerians, especially Nigerian media to stop
condemning homosexuals and Lesbians in Nigeria. The
bishops stated this in an article titled “Still on Same-Sex
Union and the Stand of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
Nigeria”, which was shared by the group’s director of social
communication, Chris Anyanwu.
According to the article, the bishops welcomed the Nigerian
government's anti-gay law but they do not seek the
punishment or jailing of persons who err but to help them
unto salvation.
The article reads in part
“There is certainly an obsession by some journalists
about ‘severe punishment of gays or lesbians’ and
they try to twist the Bishops’ statements to
articulate their views. Nigerian Catholic bishops are
very responsible pastors who do not seek the
punishment or jailing of persons who err, but to help
them unto salvation. In wrongly reading the letter
of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria
(CBCN) in January 2015 to President Goodluck
Jonathan, some international organizations
mischievously reduced the CBCN position to
advocating severe punishment of gays or lesbians
with long prison terms. What the CBCN supported,
blessed and commended in their letter of 21st
January, 2015 to former President Goodluck
Jonathan was because the Nigerian government
upheld the dignity and sanctity of marriage even
in the face of all sorts of pressure. When,
therefore, the federal government resisted the
attempt to impose this culture on Nigerians by
legislating against ‘same-sex union’, the Catholic
Bishops of Nigeria felt a sense of great relief and
issued a statement to affirm government’s
decision. The Archbishop Kaigama we know is a
careful and pastorally-minded prelate who would
not have used such words as: ‘shameful’, ‘barbaric’,
‘madness’, etc. to refer to anyone. Our stand was
and is ‘no to same sex union’ and ‘no to spreading
of the homosexual culture’ which can only
complicate our struggle to uphold traditional/
religious/moral values in our country,” he said.