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Outrage As Pope Backs Same-sex Civil Unions

Published

4 years ago

March 17, 2021

LGBTQ Catholics and their allies in the U.S. welcomed Pope Francis’ endorsement of same-sex civil unions, the first time he’s done so as pontiff, while some prominent members including a bishop said Wednesday that he was blatantly contradicting church teaching.

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, was one of the first conservative Catholic leaders to go public with criticism.

“The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions.”

Tobin said in a statement, “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.”

In contrast, Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which represents LGBTQ Catholics, hailed the pope’s comments as a “historic” shift for a church that has a record of persecuting gays.

“It is no overstatement to say that with this statement not only has the pope protected LGBTQ couples and families, but he also will save many LGBTQ lives,” DeBernardo said.

The pope’s comments came midway through a feature-length documentary, “Francesco,” that premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.

“Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,” Francis says in the film. “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.”

The comment came in the final lap of a U.S. election campaign in which both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden have avidly courted Catholic voters. It’s not yet clear whether it could indirectly benefit Biden, whose team has run ads spotlighting his lifelong Catholicism, but some liberal-leaning faith advocates saw plenty of shared values to highlight with Francis’ message of inclusion.

“Pope Francis’ words will highlight the inclusive, accepting essence of Christianity that so many people care about,” said Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, a fellow with the faith initiative at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank.

“The way conservative Christians … distort this message of love and justice that Jesus proclaimed” can have an alienating effect, he said.

Carolyn Woo, former president of Catholic Relief Services and a co-chair of Catholics for Biden, said Francis’ emphasis on the “dignity of people,” without any conditions, aligns well with values Democrats espouse.

“Overall the Democratic platform is: We’ve got to help people where they are at. We’ve got to protect their rights, we’ve got to help them flourish,” she said, emphasizing the importance of Catholics using “prudential judgment in how we honor life.”

That view holds little sway, however, with more conservative Catholics who already take a dim view of Biden over his support for abortion rights in stark contrast with a fundamental teaching of their faith.

Another teaching confines the institution of marriage to a man and a woman — and that remains intact regardless of the pope’s remarks on same-sex unions, said Brian Burch, president of the conservative group CatholicVote.

Francis “has no ability to change that teaching about the permanence and exclusivity of marriage,” Burch said, adding that he doesn’t see the comments having “explosive relevance” in the current U.S. political climate.

“Catholics who live in communion with what the church teaches understand that marriage is written into the law of nature,” Burch said. “Nothing can change that.”

Previously, when he was Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage, but he had never come out publicly in favor of such unions as pope, nor had any previous pontiff.

The Rev. James Martin, a prominent Jesuit priest who has advocated for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the church, called the remarks momentous.

“First, he is saying them as Pope, not Archbishop of Buenos Aires,” Martin tweeted. “Second, he is clearly supporting, not simply tolerating, civil unions. Third, he is saying it on camera, not privately. Historic.”

But the Rev. Donald Paul Sullins, a conservative sociology professor at the Catholic University of America, said they “directly contradict the Catholic Church’s most recent teaching on this matter.”

He cited a 2003 Vatican document, approved by St. John Paul II, which says, “The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions.”

However polls indicate that many lay Catholics are more accepting of LGTBQ rights despite such teachings. About 6 in 10 Catholics supported government protections that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ people in workplaces, housing and schools, according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

“These words from the pope will inflame many on the Catholic right … but they will be a balm to the vast majority of Catholics and, I daresay, pastors,” said David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture. “They don’t want to engage in these ugly culture war battles, especially because gay Catholics are not abstractions — they are in their homes, part of their families, and part of their parishes.”

Francis’ remarks seem to undercut the policies of some Catholic institutions prohibiting employees from entering into same-sex marriages.

Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a religious studies professor at Manhattan College, expressed hope that the pope’s remarks “will prompt Catholic institutions to stop firing teachers, catechists, music ministers and others who are part of the LGBTQ community and a vital part of the Catholic community as well.”

The largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., the Southern Baptist Convention, shares the Catholic Church’s official opposition to same-sex marriage and civil unions, and several of its leaders also criticized Francis.

The comments “reveal another sign of the recklessness of this papacy and demonstrates the undermining of the truth, doctrine, and moral logic of his own church,” said the Rev. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“Given the influence of that church worldwide,” Mohler continued, “it will weaken Christian witness to marriage and sexuality and gender according to God’s will and God’s Word.”

(AP)

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Tension As Unknown Gunmen Kill Police Informant In Imo Community

Published

1 month ago

April 25, 2025

Editor

By Qosim Sulaiman

Palpable tension engulfed the residents of Nkwogwu community, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State following the killing of an elderly man, Pa Albert Nwanchukwu, believed to be a police informant.

The assailants, numbering about eight, who reportedly stormed the home of the late Nwanchukwu at about 10pm on Tuesday, 22 April, 2025, were said to have met him where he was relaxing in his compound and immediately opened fire on him.

According to our source who pleaded anonymity, before his assassination, the late Nwanchukwu, had reportedly went to a police station in the locality to inform them of the activities of the gunmen, just as he pleaded to the police to get them arrested.

Our source disclosed that the late Nwanchukwu never knew that some policemen are accomplished in the act, adding that the policemen no doubt informed the gunmen who in anger came and killed him.

Our source narrated: “They were about eight in number. They came with different weapons – guns, machetes. They were all masked except their leader.

“It was late but the floodlight from the streetlight was bright. They drove dangerously and went straight to Mr Albert Uwandu Nwachukwu house. The man was relaxing in the front of his house. Immediately they saw him, they opened fire,” he died on the spot”, an eyewitness who saw the entire scene from the balcony of his house recounts.

Our source added: “Further investigations proved that the spy had informed this notorious gang of late Pa Nwachukwu’s visit to the police, thereby leading to the attack on his household.”

After killing the man, the gang reportedly went inside the house searching for other family members.

While it was evident that the gang intended to eviscerate the entire members of the family, three of his children – Victor Onyedikachi Nwachukwu, Promise Rita Nwachukwu Yakubu and Blessing Nzebechi Nwachukwu escaped.

“I saw the three of them. They ran through the back door. Since that time, we have not seen them again”, the same eye-witness disclosed to our correspondent.

This particular incident has thrown the entire community and Aboh Mbaise Local Government in general, into mourning.

While some questioned the safety of police informants, other believed the incident shows the rot in the police force of the country.

Expressing his disappointment in the police, the chairman of Aboh Mabise LGA; Honourable Barrister Iheukwumere Henry Alaribe vowed a major crackdown on the unknown gunmen.

The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma promised a total clampdown and return of sanity to the community.

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Protect Oil Palm Host Communities; Address Spate Of Kidnapping, Violence, Govt Told

Published

3 months ago

February 26, 2025

Editor

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

A non-profit organization – African Law Foundation (AFRILAW), has appealed to the government at levels to ensure the protection of oil palm host communities and address the spate of kidnapping and violence in such areas.

AFRILAW further urged the governments to ensure that communities’ rights and privileges are respected in land deals with oil palm companies to avoid human rights violations.

Okereke Chinwike Esq,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AFRILAW, made the appeal in Benin on Tuesday at the Public Presentation and launching of ‘The Community-based Report on Human Rights Violations in the Palm Oil Supply Chain in Edo State.’

INFO DAILY reports that the event is part of AFRILAW activities under the “Promoting Human Rights in Palm Oil Supply Chain in Nigeria Project,” being implemented by AFRILAW in partnership with Zero Tolerance Initiative (ZTI) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with funding support from True Cost Initiative (TCI) USA.

According to the AFRILAW founder, addressing companies’ human rights violations from their operations in host communities require evidence-based research, hence the research and report presentation.

“The Report we are presenting today documents evidence of community rights violations by major oil palm companies operating in the state. The research is informed by the increasing spate of violence and community protests against the operations of oil palm companies operating in Edo state, and provides greater understanding of the prevailing cases of community and human rights violations and nature of conflicts,” he noted.

He, therefore, urged the government to
“put in place a mandatory binding CSR laws and guidelines for companies to ensure that community rights and privileges are protected.”

He further appealed to the government to “ensure effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights and set forth clear expectations for business enterprises regarding the importance of respecting the rights of human rights defenders, indigenous people and communities in Nigeria.”

On his part, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), described the report as essential, stressing that beyond normal advocacy, research-based advocacy is more efficient and effective.

Represented by Mrs Mary Okoh, Deputy Director, Legal/Focal Point Business and Human Rights, NHRC, Ojukwu said beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organization should take seriously major issues of mainstreaming human rights into their operations.

“That means anyone who wants to set up a business must put into consideration the needs of the people and not what the organization or company needs. We have found out that this is where human rights violations start.

“Let them be part of the discussion and planning in the setting up of the business. Let them know what is at stake for them,” he said.

Goodwill messages were delivered by government agencies and ministries, while the presentation and launching also attracted security agencies including the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Customs Service, and the Nigeria Immigration Service among others.

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#EndBadGovernance: Police Manhunt Activists, Others, As Artist Cries Out For Help In Benin

Published

10 months ago

August 15, 2024

Editor

The suspect, Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa,

The Nigeria Police Force has launched a manhunt for suspected sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest that swept round the country last week.

Though police had arrested scores of such protesters across the country, many, especially vocal personalities and civil rights activists who have been criticising policies of the Tinubu administration in Nigeria have been penned down for arrest.

Also of interest to the police are those alleged to have massively produced and supplied Russian flags that were displayed during the protests, as they have vowed that none of the suspects would be spared.

It was gathered that undercover policemen are closing in on the social critics including one Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa, a vocal music artiste in Benin City.

This has raised fears and trepidation in that circle with many going underground for fear of being arrested by the police.

Oghosa is accused of masterminding an attempted jail break in the Benin metropolis similar to the End SARS protest in 2020, experience that resulted in the prison break and escape of prisoners and detainees alike.

Oghosa, in an interview with our correspondent, lamented that his music which focuses social justice, equality, societal ills among others in Nigeria, is now being as a crime.

He further lamented that despite several tactics to beat the security tab on him by agents of the government, he had faced persecution from invincible nocturnal groups.

Further lamenting how the government is hell bent in silencing voices speaking for the masses, Oghosa recalled how he was called at midnight to stop production of his song titled “OBI”, adding that he was seriously warned .

In a related development, Ahmed Bello, one of the suspect producers of the Russian flag hoist in some cities in Nigeria has been attested.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee joint press briefing.

He added that the police were on the trail of other suspects, especially the sponsors of the protest which led to the destruction of government properties in Kaduna and Kano States.

Adejobi said the suspects committed a treasonable felony, offence by waving a foreign country’s flag in Nigeria.

He said: “So, we need to set the record straight. It is important for us to know, so far so good we have been able to arrest some individuals who were engaging themselves in what I call a treasonable felony, while we are still going after their sponsors.

“To carry the flags of a foreign country in another country is a criminal offence. We have them arrested. Just this morning, we arrested one Ahmed Bello from Kano State fuor producing a large quantity of Russian flags given to young Nigerians to hoist for reasons best known to him.”

The police added that protesters in Benin City had made attempts to invade the DSS office in the state with the intention to free persons who in their opinion were being unjustly detained there-in forcing the law enforcement agencies to disperse them.