Government has been urged not to succumb to pressures from the Western countries to legaliseLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) activities in the country.
According to the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC),the government should also close down the LGBTQI office space which was recently opened in Accra.
“We also call on the President and Parliament to state unambiguously their position on the matter of homosexuality and its practice in Ghana”, a statement issued by the PresidentGCBC, Most Reverend Philip Naameh, in Accra, at the weekend, said.
The reaction from the Conference comes on the heels of the opening of an LGBTQI Office in an undisclosed location in Accra, which has rekindled discussions on the rights and activities of LGBTQI in the country.
The European Union (EU) in Ghana , which has since called onGhanaians to respect the rights of the LGBTQI community has received condemnation fromvarious quarters , principally, the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Lawyer Moses Foh-Amoaning.
According to the statement, in the Church’s understanding of human rights, the rights of homosexuals as persons did not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman.
It said specific human rights included the right to life, personal liberty and due process of law; to freedom of thought, expression, religion, organization, and movement; to freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, language, and sex; to basic education; to employment; and to property.
“For the Church, this (LGBTQI right) is morally wrong and goes against God’s purpose for marriage”, it said, citing several instances in the Bible to support the Conference’s stance.
The statement made reference to Leviticus 18:22 which read, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination” and Leviticus 20:13 we stated that , “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them”.
From Gen 19:1-28, it drew the attention of Ghanaians to the destruction of the Biblical town of Sodom where some residents threatened two male visitors, given hospitality by Lot, with homosexual rape.
While condemning all those who support the practice of homosexuality in the country, the statement endorsed the position of Moses Foh-Amoaning, a lawyer and the Coalition championing the crusade against homosexuality over the years as well as other individuals who have spoken in condemnation of this practice.
“Even though the Church strongly condemns homosexual acts, it insists that the rights of homosexuals as persons should be respected. Homosexuals are also human beings, created in the image of God, and they should enjoy the same fundamental human rights that all people enjoy”, it said.
The statement pointed out that that European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France had ruled in 2016 that same-sex “marriages” were not considered a human right, making it clear that homosexual partnerships did not in fact equal marriages between a man and a woman.
BY TIMES REPORTER
