“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5 NRSV)
We, the members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in the light of recent
discussions among many Ghanaians on homosexuality and on whether or not it
should be criminalized, have seen the need to address the theme “The Catholic
Church and the State on Homosexuality”. Homosexuality may be defined as sexual
interest in and attraction to members of one’s own sex. We will begin by stating
what the position of the Catholic Church is on homosexuality.
Biblical Teaching on Homosexuality
The Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality is based primarily on what the
Bible says on this matter. The Bible, which is foundational to Christian beliefs and
practices, condemns the practice of homosexuality. In the Old Testament, this
practice was seen as a perversion and a pagan abomination. In Lev 18:22 we read,
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”. Similarly, in
Lev 20:13 we read, “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”.
Another passage relevant in this discussion is Gen 19:1-28. While admittedly the
text of Gen 19:1-28 does not deal with homosexual people, it does not deny the fact
that what the men of Sodom intended to do with the two male guests of Lot
constituted homosexual acts (cf. Gen 19:5: the Hebrew verb “yada’” is a biblical
euphemism for sexual relations). Lot’s offer to give his two virgin daughters in place
of the two male guests shows that he perceived the desire of the men of Sodom as
perverted lust. While the idea of intolerance and hostility towards the stranger is
present in the text, it is certainly sexual perversion, i.e., their desire to engage in
homosexual acts, which is at the root of the crimes of the men of Sodom.
Most of the references to homosexuality in the New Testament occur in the letters
of Paul. The clearest is Romans 1:26-27. In the context, Paul is portraying the moral
disorder that accompanies the rejection of the knowledge of God in the pagan world.
He says, “For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. Their women
exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural
relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men
committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due
penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:26-27). Rom 1:26 thus addresses the particular
issue of homosexual behaviour between consenting females. Rom. 1:27 is the
clearest statement in the New Testament regarding the issue of homosexual
behaviour between consenting adult males. Some interpreters suggest that Paul has
in mind here sexual relations between men and boys in particular; however, Paul’s
indictment seems to include all kinds of homosexual practice, female as well as male,
and was not directed against one kind of homosexual practice in distinction from
another.
In 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10 Paul speaks of homosexuality. These two verses may be
discussed together. In 1 Cor. 6:9 Paul says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts”. In 1 Tim. 1:10 he speaks of “immoral
persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to
sound doctrine”. The terms “sexual perverts” and “sodomites” in the two passages
translate the same Greek word (arsenokoitai) which denotes practitioners of
homosexuality. However, it needs to be added that Paul does not single out samesex intercourse as specially perverted or monstrous. He lists it alongside theft,
drunkenness and perjury, as well as adultery and murder. It is nevertheless a safe
conclusion that, whatever might be said about individual orientations or dispositions,
Paul could only have regarded all homosexual erotic and genital behaviour as
contrary to the creator’s plan for human life, to be abandoned on conversion (cf. 1
Cor 6:11).
Homosexuality is also incompatible with the creation stories about man and woman
in Genesis. In the opening chapters of Genesis, the creation of the sexes by God is
presented as having a twofold purpose: men and women are meant to come together
in a one-flesh unity of life (Gen 2:24) and to beget children (Gen 1:28). Since sexual
activity was seen to be ordered to procreation and the continuance of the human race,
any form of sexual activity other than heterosexual intercourse is against nature and
is a clear violation of right reason. For the Church, to choose someone of the same
sex for one’s sexual activity or for marriage is to annul the rich symbolism and
meaning, not to mention the goals, of God’s sexual design.
Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life, and so it
thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the
essence of Christian living.
The Teaching of the Catholic Church on Homosexuality
In addition to the biblical material cited above that condemns homosexuality, the
Catholic Church makes a distinction between “the homosexual condition or
tendency” and “individual homosexual actions”.1 The Church thus makes a
distinction between the homosexual as a person and the acts that he may carry out
as a homosexual person. With regard to the former, the Church does not condemn
people for being homosexuals or for having the homosexual tendency. Homosexuals
must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. The Church teaches that
the intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and
in law. According to Pope Francis, the homosexual person needs to be “respected
in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, and ‘every sign of unjust
discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression or
violence” (Amoris Laetitia 250). For this reason, it is not right to inflict physical or
other types of violence on homosexuals just because they are homosexuals. Their
being homosexuals does not mean that they should be treated like criminals.
The Church insists that homosexuals, also created in the image of God, must enjoy
the fundamental human rights that all human beings enjoy. By fundamental human
rights, we mean the universal, inviolable and inalienable rights that are due to the
human person as a rational being possessing a free will. Human rights protect, or are
intended to protect, the dignity of the human person against State and Society.
Specific human rights include 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. Nevertheless, according to the
Church’s understanding of human rights, the rights of homosexuals as persons do
not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman. For
the Church, this is morally wrong and goes against God’s purpose for marriage.
With regard to “individual homosexual actions”, however, the Church says that they
are “intrinsically disordered” and are “in no case to be approved of”.2 Thus, while
the church does not condemn homosexuals for being homosexuals, it condemns the
homosexual acts that they perform. For the Church also, although the particular
inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency
ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen
as an objective disorder.
The long-held teaching of the Roman Catholic Church has been that while
homosexual people are to be loved and respected and not be discriminated against,
homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral and must be condemned. It is for this
reason that the Church does not approve of “unions between people of the same sex”.
However, following the example of Jesus himself who came not to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance (cf. Luke 5:32 [NRSV]), the Church in its pastoral care is
solicitous about the salvation of all God’s children and endeavours to show them
God’s love and mercy. Thus, homosexuals should not be criminalized just for being
homosexuals. Neither should they be maltreated nor attacked for being homosexuals.
It is neither a sin nor a crime to be a homosexual. It is the acts that they perform that
are sinful and should be condemned.
The State on Homosexuality
The Church recognizes that the State has a duty to carry out in this matter of
homosexuality. With regard to homosexual acts, while the Church speaks of them
as sins, the State does not use such language. For the State, whose duty it is to enact
laws to govern the citizenry, the language used is that of crime. What then is a
crime? “Crime” may be defined as an action or omission, which constitutes an
offence and is usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and is punishable by
law. In the light of this definition, homosexual acts from the point of view of the
State may be criminal in nature. For example, if a homosexual man rapes a teenage
boy, that would be deemed a criminal offence, just as the same act carried out by a
heterosexual man on a teenage girl would be deemed a criminal offence. In other
words, these acts are not in the interest of the nation and, indeed, harm the nation.
For this reason, there must be punitive measures to deal with such situations.
Again, the law makers may decide that a man marrying a man or a woman marrying
a woman is not in the interest of the nation since, in the long term, it will have an
effect on the size of the population of our country if many people do this. In such a
case, the law makers will be within their rights to enact laws against that. In such
cases, it will be right for the law makers to criminalize such homosexual actions by
punitive measures. Thus, we can say that while it is not right to criminalize
homosexuals just for being homosexuals, the State is within its right to criminalize
the acts of homosexuals in the interest of the nation.
In this connection, we can state that the draft bill on “Promotion of Proper Human
Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” currently in Parliament is in the
right direction, as it seeks to enact laws against criminal homosexual acts. The bill
aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values,
proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, and provide for the protection of children,
persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities, and
other persons. We commend our law makers for the effort and time spent on this
bill. It is our hope that, when passed into law, it will indeed promote proper human
sexual rights and authentic Ghanaian family values which are under threat from
homosexual acts. It is also the hope of the Church that the bill will impose punitive
measures that are commensurate with the crimes committed.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with all of you” (2 Corinthians 13:13 NRSV)
MOST REV. MATTHEW KWASI GYAMFI
CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SUNYANI & PRESIDENT,
GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
National Catholic Secretariat, Accra
Monday, December 11, 2023