It has been referred to as the “Anglican Curse” in some quarters and although it has caused massive upheavals in other, mainly Protestant and Evangelical churches, it has so far not been an issue in the Catholic Church.
Until last December when Pope Francis announced that Catholic priests were free to bless couples in same-sex marriages, opening a Pandora’s box that has the potential to test the togetherness of the Catholic Church in proportions never seen ever since Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in 1517 leading to the formation of the Protestant movement.
In 2003, Gene Robinson was elected as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal (the American version of Anglican) Church. This had far-reaching ramifications as the traditionalists, quoting scripture, insisted that the only union allowed by God is between man and woman. They left the Episcopal Church and formed Anglican Church in North America.
The matter came a head globally when conservatives, mostly from the Global South, formed the Global Anglican Future Conference which describes itself thus: “A global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion."
A similar schism has been witnessed in the Methodist Church in the United States. The progressives accept gay people in the church while the conservatives wince at such a spectacle.
And now it is the Catholics’ turn. On December 18, Pope Francis gave those in same-sex relationships a Christmas gift when the Vatican issued new guidance on the topic of blessings of same-sex attracted people, stating that Catholic priests can bless same-sex couples as an expression of pastoral closeness without condoning their sexual relations.
In a document titled “Fiducia Supplicans”, Pope Francis sparked controversy with the declaration that allowed the stated blessings provided they were not confused with the traditional doctrine of marriage, an insoluble union between man and woman.
According to the National Catholic Register, the ruling, which also applies to Catholics civilly remarried without having received an annulment as well as to couples in other "irregular situations," underscored that such blessings cannot be offered in a way that would cause any confusion about the nature of marriage, which the document affirms is the only "context that sexual relations find their natural, proper, and fully human meaning."
As expected, the announcement ran into serious headwinds especially in Africa where issues like homosexuality are frowned upon. In some countries like Uganda, there are clauses in the law which allow for death penalty for those engaging in the act. The US has blacklisted top Ugandan officials and also removed the country from the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Back to the Catholics. One of the places where the new papal directive was opposed is Nigeria, which has one of the world’s largest Catholic population, standing at over 30 million.
Nigeria is the home of Cardinal Francis Arinze, who was one of those touted to take over the Seat of Saint Peter as the Bishop of Rome, that is the Pope, to succeed Pope John Paul who died in 2005.
In 2022, Belgian bishops, in total disregard to the conventional wisdom in the Catholic Church then, announced that they would be conducting blessings of same-sex marriages. This raised the ire of Cardinal Arinze, the former head of the Vatican’s liturgy office.
"Human beings have no power to change the order established by God the creator. Even if the aim is to be pastorally helpful to homosexual couples, this is an error on the part of the bishops," Arinze was quoted by the Catholic News Agency saying.
Archbishop Philip Anyolo. He has said that blessing gay unions would go against the word of God.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In this latest controversy Nairobi Archbishop Philip Anyolo chose to defy the Pope saying that blessing irregular relationships, unions and gay couples would imply that the Church permits such acts, which he said go against God’s word, the teachings of the Church and the African cultural traditions.
Rev Fr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria Media lists African states Nigeria, Cameroun, Malawi, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, Congo and Madagascar as having parted ways with the Pope over this matter.
It remains to be seen whether the Catholics will go the Anglican way and have divisions in the church, or whether this is just a storm in a tea cup that will soon blow over.
