Indian bishops at odds over decriminalization of homosexual acts
July 01, 2009
A spokesman for the Church in Kerala-- the southwestern Indian state that has been the nation’s Catholic stronghold since its evangelization by St. Thomas the Apostle-- has condemned the federal’s government’s proposal to decriminalize homosexual acts. This stance is at odds with that of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, which opposes same-sex marriage but is not opposed to the proposed decriminalization.
In December, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said, “The well-known principles of respect for the fundamental rights of the person and the rejection of all unjust discrimination-- recognized clearly by the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself-- evidently exclude not only the death penalty, but all violent or discriminatory penal legislations in relation to homosexuals.”
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Further information:
- Church against legalising homosexuality (Indian Express)
- Religious groups oppose move to repeal gay law (Indian Catholic)
- Vatican spokesman defends opposition to UN homosexuality resolution (CWN, Dec 3)
- India: Catholic group warns against decriminalization of homosexuality (CWN, June 29)
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