Pope Francis has said that he is confident that critics of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples will eventually come to terms with it, except for Africans, whom he described as a “special case.”
During an interview with La Stampa on Monday, Francis described the resistance he met, especially in Africa, where bishops have rejected the same-sex marriage proposal.
This is following the Vatican land mark ruling as administered last month, which though allows for same-sex individuals to be a part of a union blessed in marriage, but has caused widespread debate in Catholic churches across the globe.
The 87-year-old told the Italian Newspaper that when the blessings are given, priests who obliged should “naturally take into account the context, the sensitivities, the places where one lives and the most appropriate ways to do it”.
However, he also states that, “Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups,” except for Africans with strong resistance who he considered “special case: for them, same-sex is something ‘bad’ from a cultural point of view, they won’t tolerate it.”
His statement reads in part:
“But in general, I trust that gradually everyone will be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: it aims to include, not divide,” the pope said.
In many African countries, open displays of homosexuality or an attempt to register a sex-same marriage attracts prison sentences, such as in Nigeria where it is punishable with up to 14 years in prison.
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