Nigeria’s bishops denounce same-sex marriage, decry Western ‘LGBT propaganda’

July 10, 2015

The bishops of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, have strongly denounced same-sex marriage in the wake of recent developments in Ireland, the United States, and other Western nations.

Lamenting “the recent rise in Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender activism,” the bishops characterized “powerful legislative and judicial maneuvers to redefine marriage” as “a sad, unjust and lamentable situation based largely upon a distorted perception of natural law, the will of God, and human nature.”

In a related story, Nigeria's government has criticized the UN's human-rights office for promoting acceptance of same-sex marriage. In a statement delivered at UN offices in Geneva, Nigerian representatives said that their country's laws regarding marriage are "intended to uphold and strengthen" the principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The statement rejected the notion that opposition to same-sex unions is evidence of unfair discrimination.

Noting that Western nations “undeniably have cultural, social and economic influence upon many African nations” through media and other means, Nigeria’s Catholic bishops expressed concern about Mozambique’s repeal of its anti-sodomy law, “thereby opening the door to the festering of the homosexual culture/subculture within their society.”

“We therefore hereby express our concern with regard to the persistent and continuous propagation and globalization of the homosexual lifestyle and the effort to redefine marriage which is a distorted view of human sexuality, coming especially from the Western world,” the bishops continued in their July 8 statement. “Accepting this Western trend by officially endorsing homosexual unions or ‘same-sex marriage’ will be devastating and detrimental to our nation, Nigeria as it will lead to the inevitable deconstruction of the family and the society at large with other serious but negative implications.”

The bishops added:

On our part we hereby re-emphasize that Marriage is the sacred union of one man and one woman for the begetting and care of children. It forms the core of the family which is the bedrock and foundational cell of our civilization and as such it is sanctioned by God, upheld by our culture, celebrated in our society and protected by our government. The family deserves the protection from all civilized institutions as it predates society and is not subject to it. So our role is to promote it, protect it and preserve it at a time like this when many countries have unfortunately chosen a different path.

We call upon President Muhammadu Buhari and all our esteemed leaders, legislators and judges to shun all pressures and protect all Nigerians from the growing but dangerous influence of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender propaganda.

We appeal to professionals in the domains of media, music, entertainment, teaching, medicine, marketing and business to become faithful gatekeepers by protecting the public from the infiltration of this propaganda which is often spread through various media and forums.

We encourage parents to educate their children on the immutable meaning of marriage so as to strengthen them to stand fearless by the indelible truth in a rapidly changing world. We urge young people to learn and hold firmly unto sound religious and cultural values that celebrate the beauty and blessings of marriage as the lifelong union between one man and one woman.

Finally we pray that God will grant us all the courage, integrity and perseverance needed at this time to uphold the unchangeable truth about the dignity of human sexuality and the sanctity of the institution of marriage.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Nigeria: Our Stand On Marriage, family and human society (Vatican Radio)
• Bishops' concern for the approval of same-sex marriages in the western world (Fides)
• Nigeria Rebukes UN High Commissioner For Pushing LGBT as Human Rights (C-Fam)