Pope admits cultural resistance to blessing gay couples in Africa is undesirable

Pope Francis acknowledges that in Africa there is particular resistance to blessing same-sex couples for cultural reasons, but says he believes that “little by little” everyone will understand the importance of inclusion and there will be no schism.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, published this Monday, when asked whether the opening of the Church to all is the greatest task of his pontificate, after last summer in Lisbon on the occasion of World Youth Days, he declared that the Church is for “all, everyone, everyone,” the Pope suggested that this is “the key to understanding Jesus,” as “Christ calls everyone,” but admitted that he has been faced with many questions “lately.”

Using a parable from the Bible about a wedding banquet where no one is present, which forces the king to send servants to invite everyone they meet to the wedding, Pope Francis noted that “the Son of God wants to make it clear that He does not want a select group, an elite.” , and “later, perhaps, someone will be “secretly introduced,” but at this moment it is God who takes care of it, shows the way.”

“When they ask me: “Can these people who are in such an inappropriate moral situation also come in?”, I assure them: “That’s it, the Lord said so.” Similar questions come to me especially recently, after some of my decisions,” he said.

Responding specifically to a question about the blessing of “non-male and same-sex couples” that he proposed last year, Pope Francis confirmed that he is being asked “how is this possible,” to which he responds that “the Gospel is called to sanctify everyone, of course it will , good will,” emphasizing that “it is not the union that is blessed, but the people.”

When asked how he was dealing with opposition from parts of the Church to his proposal, after speaking in a recent television interview in Italy about “the cost of loneliness that comes with such a move,” Pope Francis then pointed to the specific case of Africa.

“Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups. Africans are an example of this: for them, homosexuality is something ‘ugly’ from a cultural point of view, they do not tolerate it,” he said.

“But overall, I believe that little by little everyone is becoming aware of the spirit of the declaration of the “Fiducia suppliants” of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of Faith: it wants to include, not divide. It encourages people to welcome and then trust God,” he added.

Asked if he feared a schism, Pope Francis said he did not, noting that “there have always been small groups in the Church who expressed schismatic thoughts,” but we must “look forward.”

Last year, Pope Francis suggested there might be ways to bless same-sex unions, responding to five conservative cardinals who called on him to reaffirm the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, sparking controversy in more conservative sectors of the Church.

Among those who have expressed confusion about the blessings for the “wrong couples” are the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and Sao Tome (CEAST), who even decided that they should not be held in the two countries because “it would create a huge scandal and confusion among the believers.”

“Regarding the informal blessings for “wrong couples”, although this sacrament is different from the liturgical blessing, we believe that in our cultural and ecclesiastical context they would cause enormous scandal and confusion among the faithful, so we have decided that they should not be performed in Angola and Sao Tome,” the statement said.

CEAST’s statement thus responded to Pope Francis’ recent proposal to bless same-sex couples without conveying the “wrong concept of marriage” and also arguing that priests cannot become judges.

According to CEAST, its position is supported by the declaration of “Fiducia Supplicans,” which they consider sufficient to guide the prudent and paternal discernment of ordained ministers” regarding the blessings of same-sex couples, further asserting that “the document does not impose any single line.”