AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES
PUBLISHED
BY
THE NIGERIAN ASSOCIATION FOR BIBLICAL
STUDIES
Published twice a year
Copyright © NABIS 2004
ISSN 0575-7602
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Volume XXI No II, October, 2004.
BIBLICAL AND ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHINGS
ON HOMOSEXUALITY: THE NIGERIAN
CONTEXT
Pious Abioje
Introduction
Many Western countries are battling with what to do with
homosexuals: the appropriate understanding of their condition, and
what could be the right attitude to them. In some part of the world,
gay and lesbian marriages have been legitimized. In several
countries, homosexuals are struggling for recognition. Apparently,
homosexuality has not become a burning issue in Nigeria. Could it
be that there are no homosexuals, including lesbians, in Nigeria, or
that the situation is existing clandestinely, in the mean time?
Moreover, what can be an appropriate Christian response to the
challenge of homosexuality?
The objective of this study is to determine the rate of
homosexuality in Nigeria, and to generate awareness. The
experience with the Human Immune Virus (HIV) and the Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is illustrative. Many
Africans had thought that the problem was limited to homosexuals,
particularly in America and Europe. Today, however, many
Africans, in Uganda, Kenya, Congo, South Africa, and other parts
of Africa have died from the scourge. Many Nigerians have also
died from it. There is hardly any country that is not affected in
Africa, and the number of carriers of the disease is said to be on the
increase. It is, therefore, pertinent for Nigerians, and Aim air.
generally, to initiate serious discussion on the issue of
homosexuality, to avoid being overwhelmed as in the case
of HEW AIDS.
Basically the argument is that apriori judgment of
homosexuality may not be good enough in a scientific age.
Biblically sneaking, Jesus Christ can not be seen to enjoin blind
argument or dogmatism. Christian faith should, therefore, pay
attention to scientific discoveries, and be cautious in
making pronouncements that may sooner or later be faulted
even when certain biblical passages are said to support the
declaration. For instance, before Nicholas Copernicus (1473 1543), and Galileo Galilei (156-1- 1642), most people thought it
was the sun that was rotating, while the earth stood still.
Likewise, until Mary-''Mitchell Slessor's intervention in early
twentieth century, Nigerians in Calabar region were killing twins,
because they thought that they were evil. Along with biblical
content, openness to genuine scientific opinion on matter and
form, and on organic life can guide the Church, the Christian
people of God, to be as objective as possible. One would think
that while science is not absolute, theologians should accord its
findings serious consideration. And that is the orientation of
this study, with specific reference to homosexuality. In the final
analysis, there may be more questions than answers, which
would warrant further research. The study is done under the
sub-headings of Homosexuality in Nigerian Worldview;
Catholic Church in Nigeria and the Understanding of Human
Sexuality; Biblically Based Teaching on Homosexuality; and
Parents in Face of Homosexual Marriage. Then the
conclusion.
Homosexuality in Nigerian Worldview
It can be said, without any fear of contradiction, that
homosexuality has not reached the same level of volatility as
in America and Europe, where there is open debate about
whether gay and lesbian marriages should enjoy public
approval and legalization. But, whenever one raised the
question whether there are homosexual Nigerians, the
answer has been on the side of affirmation, whether the
question is thrown at a group of students, ni an academic forum, or
one wondering aloud, as to its existence within the indigenous
nomination. Some interviewees would name locations in some big
towns, where homosexual prostitution thrives in every part of
Nigeria, with particular reference to urban areas. It was revealed
that persons who are familiar with prisons and students' hostel
life, at tertiary and secondary levels of academic education, would
hardly be ignorant that gay and lesbian practices are common
features of some communities in Nigeria.
The yet to be approved ourriculu" 1 that was designed for
sexuality education in Nigerian upper primary, junior and senior
secondary schools has thrown clearer light on the existence of
homosexuality in Nigeria. A comment in the curriculum reads:
Perhaps the most morally and culturally
objectionable aspect of the curriculum is its
views on what it calls sexual identity and
sexual orientation. The curriculum does not
view homosexuality and bisexuality as sexual
perversions but as legitimate ‘sexual
orientations’ like heterosexuality, and even
goes ahead to state controversially that all
cultures in Nigeria have a significant chunk of
closet gays and lesbians. The teacher explains
why it would be difficult to be OPENLY
homosexual or bisexual in Nigeria (since ALL
cultures have a certain percent who are, but
they keep it a secret, the curriculum state.
(Emphasis added)1.
In point of fact, what one gathered in a series of interviews was that
homosexuality is not explosive in Nigeria, not because it does not
exist in some Nigerians, but due to the fact that the
environment is not conducive to its open display, whereby some
individuals can come out and declare that they are gay partners or
couples, as already happening in much liberal societies of Europe
and America. Indeed, some interviewees were convinced that
there would be gay and lesbian Nigerian couples, even though they
would not identify them or be specific as to how many there may be.
They would not be surprises to hear that one-day gas and lesbians
demonstrate for legalization of homosexual marriage in Nigeria.
They thought it is a future possibility, because Western culture is
becoming more and more pervasive in Nigeria. A newspaper
article, titled: "Western Culture Will Ruin Us", has it inter alia:
The general moral degeneracy, pre-marital sex, Internet theft,
hired killings and so on, are not allowed by our custom, but
Western Civilization and the invention of computers has
helped perpetrators to carry out their mischievous acts of theft
(419), thereby causing others to cry. Not only that, dangerous
weapons such as guns and pistols are here with us as a result
of migration and exposure to Western films and lifestyle. In
the days of our forefathers, virginity was a virtue and girls
who went to their husbands' homes without their hymen intact
were promptly returned to their parents. This sends the correct
signals to the parents that they have not brought up their
children properly, but with the westernized world, virginity
has lost its value.2
_________________________
1
Weekly Trust, June 28 - July 4, 2004, 2.
2
Sunday Sun, July 18, 2004, 24.
Such is the influence of the Western culture on life in Nigeria,
and to that extent, one may not be able to guarantee that clamour
for legalization of homosexual marriage will never happen in the
country.
Having said that, the question must be asked whether Africa,
generally speaking, is not in the habit of always blaming the West
for all her woes. The computer and the Internet, for instance, have
their positive and negative aspects, but the argument above has
only zeroed-in on the negative sides of these invaluable
information and communication devices. Is it the Western culture
that has created in Africans negative tendencies and potentialities,
in MI worse, the cultural influence has only boosted the
information of the negative innate potentials? Moreover, one
would think that to be fair, Western influence should not be
perceived and conceived only in negative terms, as if there are no
benefits at all. Carmody and Carmody observe that "there is no
good meeting between people, whether they be lovers, friends, coworkers, or even enemies, that cannot become space rendered
pregnant with divine meaning, a womb for human growth."1 The
matter may be better appreciated when it is considered, for
instance, that some Nigerians go to the Internet for pornographic
pictures, while some other Nigerians go there for materials that
they need for their theses, and the latter group may detest
pornography altogether.
_________________________
3
JohnTully Carmody and Denise Lardner Carmody, Catholic\Spiritually and
the History of Religions (New York: Paulist Press, 1991), 1 1 .
4
The Monitor on Sunday, March 10, 2002, A3.
At any rate, if Nigeria was ever hundred percent a virgin land, that
can no longer be said to be the case. It is a country with a
number of prostitutes' colonies;4 where some girls set their rivals
ablaze;5 where some men sleep with their own daughters;6 sexual
victimization of children;7 rape cases;8 high rate of abortion;9 and
worse of all, a man was caught "making love" to a pregnant goat.10
(The man that was caught making love to a goat can not be said to
have been doing so as a result of Western influence, being that he
was an Islamic teacher (a Mallam Kudu) who was an illiterate
villager). These stories are unpleasant, but they are all found in
Nigerian daily arid weekly newspapers. If they were reported by
Westerners, of course, they would be accused of blackmail, even
though human beings are generally prone to blackmailing.
The bottomline is that human beings seem to have the same
traits, whether they are White or Black, and irrespective of their
geographical location, whether in a tropical or temperate region.
And so, one should not be surprised that Nigeria, or Africa as a
whole seem to be imbibing both the negative and the positive in
what is termed Western culture. But in addition, that is the origin of
the fear that sooner or later homosexuality may become as
explosive as in America and Europe. For the time being, the
environment and parental influence are said to be curtailing the
volatility. As one reads in a newspaper caption: "This actress says
_________________________
The Monitor on Sunday, Marrch 10, 2002, A3.
5
Sunday Punch, November 23, 2003, 7-9
6
The Herald, Wednesday, August 25, 2004, 1.
7
Weekly, Trust, June 28-July 4, 2004, 26.
8
Sunday Sun, July 18, 2004, 38.
9
The Herald on Sunday, August 15, 2004, 1&2.
10
Sunday Sun, July 18, 2004, 4.
4
she's willing to pose nude, but family ready to show her pepper."11
How far the parental and social environmental influences can
withstand the pressure of homosexual tendencies remains to be
seen. As far as many intellectuals are concerned, parents have
their limitations in determining the lives of their children. With
specific reference to mothers, Erma Bombeck opines that:
No mother is all good or all bad, all laughing or all serious, all
loving or all angry. Ambivalence runs through their veins. . . .
Let none of you who read about the mothers in this book judge
them until you have walked in their shoes of clay.12
The Yoruba would say in regard of the latter part of
Bombeck's submission: Eni t’o kàn 1o mo (It is the person wearing
a shoe who knows where it pinches).
Catholic Church in Nigeria and the Understanding of
Human Sexuality
It seems largely fair to say that, as a conservative organization,
the Catholic Church in Nigeria has no teaching on human sexuality
that is different from the stand of the universal Church that is based
in KOIiic. In other words, to know the official position of the
Roman Catholic Church on any aspect of human sexuality, as good
as knows the position of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. An
_________________________
11
Sunday Sun, July 18, 2004, p.9.
12
Erma Bombeck, Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession (New York: A
Dell Book, 1987, p.3f.
African author is quoted as depicting Africa as a person who is
complaining. "Everybody talks about me, never to me; hears about
me, never from me; is an expert on me, except me."13
One is aware that the situation is not exactly the same, with
regard to Western countries, where some dissenting voices are
heard on some issues raised by the Vatican. For instance, when
Pope Paul VI's Humane Vitae, in which he objected to any form of
artificial birth control, was published in 1986, objections were
raised in some Western quarters. As John A. Hardon notes, for
example:
Within days of its publication, the document on birth control
was assailed by a group of professors from the Catholic
University in Washington (and others whose signatures they
solicited) as 'not infallible'. History, they said, shows that a
number of statements of similar or even greater weight have
subsequently proven inadequate or even erroneous. Past
authoritative statements on religious liberty, interest-taking,
the right of silence, and the ends of marriage have all been
corrected at a later date.l4
Quite frankly, it is unimaginable that any institution that goes
by the name of Catholic in Nigeria, will voice opposition to any
position that is articulated by the Pope. Yet, as Hardon further
notes, the French bishops did not see Humane Vitae as having "the
character of infallibility". Thus, even though they urged their
people to a religious submission to the content of the encyclical,
_________________________
Emmanuel Obuna, African Priests and Celibacy in a Culture Where A
Man Without Children is A Waste (Rome: Leberit Press, 1986), 18.
14
John A. Hardon, Christianity in the Twentieth Century (Boston: Daughters of
St. Paul, 1977), 282f.
13
they would not enjoin "complete abstention from contraceptive
practices." Indeed, several other reserved reactions to Humane
Vitae are presented by Hardon. According to him, the Philippine
hierarchy recalled that, two days after the publication of the
document, Pope Paul admitted that human sexuality "is an
immense field to which the magisterium of the Church could and
perhaps should return with a fuller, more organic and more
synthetic exposition."15
One's observation is that what the Pope is quoted as saying, in
the heat of the objections that greeted the stand of his encyclical on
sexual matters, has not been fulfilled. And so, in Nigeria, at least,
the Church has continued to object to any form of artificial birth
control, including use of condom, in an age of HIV/AIDS
epidemic, together with rampant abortion. According to a medical
doctor, Ejike Ojis who spoke at; a one-day dialogue, for women
leaders and spouses of legislators: "Nigerian women obtain
approximately 610,000 abortions annually, most are unsafe. We
also have the highest mortality rate in the world."16
If, as Oji noted, the official abortion figure is estimated at
610,000 annually, only God can know the actual figure, since
many cases of abortion would occur clandestinely, outside the
glare of the press and public record. The population of Nigeria is
currently estimated at 150 million. Another report has it that: "No
fewer than three million children in Nigeria may become orphans
in the next five years as a result of the Acquired Immuned
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the Nigeria Medical Association
_________________________
15
Harden, 284ff.
16
The Herald on Sunday, August 15, 2004, 2.
(NMA), Kogi State Chapter, has observed."17 Thus, many persons
are dying from abortion and AIDS, and the Church is said to be
opposed to use of condom, as an artificial means of contraception.
Father Emmanuel Badejo, the priest that was in charge of
communications at the Nigerian Catholic Secretariat, Lagos,
explained to the press that:
The Church is saying, contraception and condom are
unacceptable. There are basic natural ways of controlling and
doing your family planning. And the Church says all these
family planning method, it is the human being that is supreme.
Self control and discipline is the only thing that does not fail.
There is no contraception method that is hundred per cent safe.
There is no condom that saves hundred per cent, and there is
nothing like safe abortion.18
To say that "self-control, and discipline, is the only thing that
does not fail", appears to be a sound judgement.- It seems to
represent the ideal But, it does not seem to occur to the
formulators of the policy, that many human beings often fall
short of the ideal, due to their innate weaknesses and external
pressures. I low docs that policy of absolute objection to any
form of manufactured contraceptive and condom respond to
massive death from abortion and AIDS? An internal weakness in
the statement, as presented by Father Badejo, also concern the
assertion that no i contraceptive method or condom is "hundred
per cent safe". The question is: What is hundred per cent safe in
human life? And: Is limited protection not better than no protection
at all?
_________________________
17
The Herald, Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 16.
18
Sunday Champion, August 11, 2002, 14.
One's observation is that the impression is often created that the
Church is either hypocritical, or have a shallow knowledge of
what human sexuality is all about. One would think that the
Church may have to explore the full meaning of: "male and
female he created them" (Gen. 1:27), toward a better understanding
of the natural attraction that exists between the two sexes, and
why or how resistance is not always possible for many men and
women. At any rate, as Amba Ewudziwa notes:
Unlike Christianity, African culture is overt about
sexuality. The divinities are clearly male, female or
androgynous. Our myths do not demonise sexuality, and
the human body is nothing to be ashamed of. l9
And, speaking globally, Nick Bamforth refers to
"cultures which revel in their sexual energy rather than fear
it."20
It would appear that St. Paul recognized the force and
pressure of human sexuality, when he said that whoever cannot
be a celibate like himself should take a wife. The Jerusalem
Bible quotes St. Paul as saying: "Now for the question about
which you wrote. Yes, it is a good thing for a man not to touch
a woman; but since sex is always a danger, let each man have his
own wife and each woman her own husband" (ICor. 7:1&2). For
Paul, then, the ideal is either celibacy or marriage if a person
cannot do without sex. But, again, it is hardly controvertible
_________________________
19
Amba Ewudziwa, "Arriving on Your Feet: Guidelines for A Sensitive
Visitor”, in Echoes: Justice, Peace and Creation News, published by the
Programme Unit III on Justice, Peace and Creation of the World Council of
Churches, 1998, 30.
20
Nick Bamforth, Duality into Unity: Spiritual & Social Vision for the
Millennium (New York: Amethyst Books, 1992), 19.
that many human beings often fall short of the ideal, and there
has to be some consideration, and where possible and necessary,
some provision for human fallibility. It is noted that:
Today, we have more contraceptive choices than ever before.
This year saw the launch of one more method of birth control:
stick-on contraceptive patches. There are barrier methods such as
the condom and IUD, and hormonal controls, such as the Pill and
injections . . . Scares relating to contraception (such as the Pill
and its suspected link to deep vein thrombosis) worsen our
reluctance to change, even though such risks are rare, we focus
on them rather than more realistic concerns, such as whether the
contraceptive concerned is easy to use, effective and, cheap; This
year's new developments are great news, meaning there really is a
contraception to suit every lifestyle.21
The aim of quoting this information represents an attempt to
bridge the gap between emotional sentiment and facing life's
realities realistically, and unhypocritically. One's conviction is
that if preaching and praying can stop all human beings from
"illicit sex", then, that would have happened longest time ago. If
anything, preaching and praying might have come to the rescue
of some persons at various times, but not all human beings at
the same time; probably not the majority of world's population
at one fell swoop.
It is rightly said that necessity is the mother of invention.
Thus, life situation rather than the desire to promote promiscuity
engendered the manufacture of condom and other contraceptive
measures Father Emmanuel Obuna notes that "human nature,
though redeemed, still remains wounded by sin and
concupiscence.22
_________________________
21
Sunday Champion, August 22, 2004, 19.
22
Emmanuel Obuna, 1986, 17.
In the course of this research, some interviewees confessed that they
did not like to use condom, because it obstructs full enjoyment of the
sexual action. When reminded that they might eventually die from
AIDS, the reply was usually that it did not matter, since a person will
surely die from something anyway. If the Church encounters this class of
persons who cannot do without illicit sex, and have resigned themselves
to fate, carelessly, what will the Good News be? (As far as this study is
concerned, the question is beyond fantasy: it is a real and existing
phenomenon). What makes it inappropriate for the Church to tell the
people of God that: God detests illicit sex, but, if you find yourself under
irresistable pressure, which is usually due to human weakness and a
level of immaturity, and you know you are falling to illicit sex, we do
not want you to die or be in trouble, try and use condom?.
In spite of the Church's teaching on sexuality, and the ecclesiastical
law of priestly celibacy, Father Obuna indicates that many celibate
priests do succumb to sexual urge. He observes, for instance, that:
Most of us know what is going on behind the curtains, we are
prepared to gossip about them in dark corners and behind people's
backs, but as soon as you make a move to put all the cards on the
table arid discuss things more openly, and constructively, people
shy away from facing the truth. My friends here in the college
tended to rationalise their way out of it in different ways. The selfrighteous ones called it dirty-talk and pretended they were not
interested. The liberals gave you the impression that, well, since
'everybody' was doing 'it', they did not see anything wrong with
'it'. But when you ask them to define exactly what they mean by
'everybody' and 'it', they run short of words or become very
ambiguous indeed. My own personal reaction to this whole
psycho-social phenomenon was: Write a book about it.23
_________________________
23
Obuna, 14.
Obuna is a Nigerian Catholic Priest who studied in Rome, and
resided in a college with fellow priests. His book, African Priests, and
Celibacy, seems classical and unrivalled. Before it, and since its
publication in 1986, there seems to be no such critical book from any
Nigerian priest on the subject of priestly celibacy as practiced in
Africa. As Obuna notes, writing the book "is a rather delicate exercise like walking a tight rope."24 Yet, African priests are not alone in violating
the sexual regulation on celibacy. An American, William F. Powers,
notes how the media exposed the revelations that Archbishop Eugene
Marino of Atlanta had been having an affair with a woman, and how
"in dioceses all over the country, priests were being sued for pederasty,
and the Church slapped with court awards amounting to millions of
dollars for the illegal behaviour of its personnel." Consequent upon that:
Dosh, Bonnike, and Padovano were called frequently to
respond to these occurrences on behalf of CORPUS. They
argued that a married priesthood would add health to a
profession so obviously sick because of the sexual repression
demanded by celibacy. Time concluded its article on scandals
in the priesthood with the suggestion that fidelity to priestly
celibacy would be more likely to be achieved 'when celibacy
is a choice, not a demand.'25
Be that as it may, the principal concern of this section is that
the Church's policies on human sexuality do not seem to have
demonstrated that the Church has a clear understanding of the
nature of (he subject, and a realistic appreciation of the difficulties
(hat arc associated with i t . No wonder, opposition seems to be
coining from right, left and centre. If the Church does not appear
objective and pragmatic- in her understanding of heterosexuality, as
_________________________
24
Obuna, 16
25
William F. Powers, Free Priests: The Movement for Ministerial Reform in the
American Catholic Church (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1992), 258.
affects society at large, how can one guarantee that her judgement
can be trusted in respect of homosexuality, which appears to be
much more mysterious than heterosexuality?
Biblically Based Teaching on Homosexuality
Probably, the Catholic Church in Nigeria has no urgent reason to
address the issue of homosexuality, since there seems to be no erisis in
that respect. The only Church in Nigeria that has had to make a
pronouncement on the subject was the Anglican Church, because
homosexuality was threatening to divide the universal Anglican
Communion. The matter got to a head with the consecration of a gay
priest as bishop, in person of Canon Gene Robinson, in New
Hampshire, United States of America. The Anglican Archbishop of
Ibadan province, Joseph Akinfenwa, was quoted as saying that:
The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion has issued a
statement through Primate Akinola. That statement is our
collective response to the happenings in America concerning
the ordination of a gay as a bishop. He said everything there
that we stand on the authority of the scripture, no more no
less. . . . Anything outside the authority of the scripture like
gay bishop issue, homosexuality etc., is ungodly, is a sin, and
we cannot accept that.26
It can be said that the Archbishop was blowing both hot and cold.
In one breath, he said: "I think it is the Lord who can judge, we cannot
judge." In another breath, he said: "Anything outside the authority of
the Scripture like gay bishop issue, homosexuality, etc, is ungodly, is a
sin and we cannot accept that."27
_________________________
26
William F. Powers, Free Priests: The Movement for Ministerial Reform in the
American Catholic Church (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1992), 258.
27
Powers, 16.
The same interviewer also sought the opinion of the Catholic
Archbishop of Ibadan province, Alaba Job. He had this to say:
The issue of gay bishop would have been better attended to
by Anglican bishops, because they have spoken on it and
there is no need for me to make another comment. The only
comment I will make is the comment that the Holy Father,
Pope John Paul II, made just last month to the Primate of the
Anglican Communion, Westminster. He said, 'please, the
issue should be looked into, and if allowed, it would ruin
Anglicanism. It would portend evil for the Church, because
Christian churches then will not be true to judge the word of
God'28
The statement by Archbishop Job confirms one's earlier
observation that the Catholic Church in Nigeria hardly has an opinion
on human sexuality that is different from what the Pope and the Vatican
teach. The statements of the two Archbishops also testify to the fact that
homosexuality is not a burning issue in Nigeria, although it is said to
thrive in certain corners of the nation. A Catholic theologian, Henry
Peschke, notes that:
Homosexuality problems are much more common than is
generally supposed. One must not be induced to think that
homosexuality is relatively rare because one does not often
come across it in the confessional or the parlour. Owing to the
stigma which society has placed upon the homosexual, the
latter shuns away from revealing his tendencies to people of
normal sexual constitution. Though for this reason accurate
statistics are difficult to obtain, five percent of the total
population is an estimate which appears in a number of
reliable studies.29
_________________________
28Powers,
29C.
16.
Henry Peschhke, Christian Ethics Volume II: A Presentation of Special Moral
Theology in the Light of Vatican II (Dublin: C. Goodlife Neale, 1981), p.431.
Peschke’s observation was confirmed in the course of this study,
in the sense that anywhere the question was raised, there was
somebody lo attest to the, fact that homosexuality exists in some
Nigerians.
One has also come to the realisation that every Church that objects
to homosexuality has done so by saying the word of God (as contained
in the scripture) is against it. Leviticus 20:13 has it that: "The man
who lies with a man in the same way as with .1 woman: they have done a
hateful thing altogether; they must die. their blood shall be on their own
heads". In a similar vein, a New Testament passage addresses the issue
of those who God has abandoned to degrading passions, which make their
women to turn from natural to unnatural practices, and "their menfolk
have given up natural intercourse to be consumed with passion for each
other, men doing shameless things with men, and getting ah appropriate
reward for their perversion" (Romans 1 .-26-27), Hence, one would agree
with Bernard Haering, that "Both the Old and New Testaments
present homosexuality as one of the most shaking perversions."30
It is difficult to see how a scholar that is worthy of the name can
deny that the two references cited above, do not imply what is understood
by homosexuality today. Rather, the age-old existence of homosexuality,
as indicated by its being reckoned with in both the Old and the New
Testaments, may confirm, albeit indirectly, what some scientists are
saying, that some genes may be responsible for homosexual
orientation in a person. It is understood that the biblical writers have
adduced their own reasons to explain the phenomenon of
homosexuality. There is, however, an apparently valid point that is
raised by some Scripture scholars, that the biblical texts that are
_________________________
30
Bernard Haering, Free and Faithful in Christ: Moral Theology for Priests and Laity
Volume 2: The Truth will Set you Free (Middlegreen, Slough: St. Paul Publications,
1979), 563.
available against homosexuality do not address today's contexts in their
totality. For instance, Robert M. Friday referring to the exegetes, notes
that:
The contemporary question of homosexual acts between
consenting adults in loving relationships was neither the
question nor the context addressed in the scriptural passages
traditionally noted in discussions about the morality of
homosexual behaviour. Despite these acknowledged
academic difficulties, the scriptural passages have contributed
to and reinforced strong negative attitudes toward homosexual
persons and actions,31
Friday notes further that a distinction is made in contemporary
science and ethical literature between homosexual tendencies of an
occasional or temporary nature which might exist in an otherwise
heterosexual person and the deeply ingrained and substantially
irreversible orientation of a homosexual person. In other words: "Same
gender sexual acts which might occur during certain stages of human
growth or under certain circumstances are not necessarily indicative
of a homosexual orientation."32
No doubt, the Catholic Church, at the official level in Rome, is
aware of the biblical passages (Genesis 19 on the homosexual
occurrence in Sodom and Gomorrah, Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; and
Romans 1:24-27) that condemn homosexuality. The Church is also
aware of the position of contemporary exegetes on the
_________________________
31
Roer M, Friday, "Homosexuality", in Joseph a. Komonchak, Mary Collins,
and Dermot A. Lane, The New Dictionary of Theology (Bangalore: Theological
Publications in India, 1996), 491.
32
Friday, 489C.
passages, and the scientific view of homosexuality, as stated
above. In response, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(CDF), in 1986, sent a letter to Catholic bishops all over the world, on
"The
Pastoral
Care
of
Homosexual
Persons". The
Congregation notes (in point no. 8) that "increasing numbers of
people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous
pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as
though it were not disordered and to condone homosexuality". But, not
much reprieve has been offered to homosexuals. At best, the
Congregation enjoins, as William C. McFadden notes, that:
Those who find themselves to be homosexual must be treated
with understanding and compassion, but they must never be
led to believe that they may act on their sexual inclinations.
They should accept the fact that they are called to a life of
celibacy. The bishops are encouraged to establish authentic
pastoral programs which will assist homosexual persons
through sacraments, prayer, witness, counsel and individual
care to lead chaste lives in the Christian community (no. 15)."
That is consistent with the traditional teaching of the Catholic
Church on human sexuality, to the effect that God has ordained
human sexuality for procreation alone, whereas in the experience of
many human beings, the situation seems to be that sexual
arousal does not always ask a person whether s/he is ready to
procreate or not. One would wish that the matter were as simple as the
Church has been stating it, because if that were to be the case, there
will be nothing like sexual crises, such as rape, fornication, adultery,
and abortion. If all homosexuals have been finding it easy, to the
________________________
33
William C, McFadden, "Homosexuality", in Michael Glazier and Monik.i K
Hellwig, eds., The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (Minnesota. The I if m ".u .ii
Press, 1994), 401.
extent that none of them neither desires sex nor permanent
relationships that take care of their sexuality, then, there would have
been little or no need for debating their case. In the opinion of this
study, a balanced statement must reckon with both self-control
(discipline) and human weakness at the same time. Nick Bamforth
notes that:
It is no coincidence that this modern 'plague' of AIDS has
taken such a toll on the homosexual population of the West,
as homosexuality has long been the greatest focus of
judgement and therefore of the ensuing guilt that society has
imposed on the free expression of our sexual nature. This
judgment has taken separation to the extreme of raising one
form of sexual expression above another, and again this is
where the power of the Church raises its ugly head,
condemning as unnatural something which does not fit into
its ordered little view of procreative sex.34
Beyond that, Bamforth notes how sacredness is attached to
homosexual persons in some traditional cultures. In his words:
To Hi is day, many shamans are homosexual and probably the
best book to document the sacred importance of homosexuals
in a modern non-Judeo/Christian culture is Walter Williams'
The Spirit and The Flesh, which illustrates the respected role
which the so-called 'berdaches' had until very recently in
Native American tribes. Not only are these homosexual men
often a focal point for much of the sacred ritual that takes
place within the tribal group, but they are also greatly trusted
and sought after for personal advice.
________________________
34
Nick Bamforth, 1992, 177
Bamforth.
35
For Africa's sake (with particular reference to Nigeria), one would like
to visit some countries, where homosexuality has been a big issue. But
it suffices to take the Catholic Church in America as a case study.
William C. McFadden, writing on American perspective, notes that
some scientists are of the opinion that "one's orientation need not be
thought of as deliberately chosen", and: "Some persons find themselves
through no fault of their own to have a homosexual orientation." He
notes further that it was based on this scientific opinion that:
In 1976, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops devoted
a section to homosexuality in trick pastoral on the .moral life.
"To Live in Christ Jesus'. ...They apply to homosexuals the
teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the dignity and
fundamental equality of all persons, declaring that
homosexuals 'should not suffer from prejudice-against their
basic human rights: "a right to respect, friendship and justice.'
In addition, the bishops teach that homosexuals deserve to
play an active role in the Christie community. 36
That is how the Catholic Church in America tries to view issues
-scientifically, seek and find some justification in any document of the
universal Church, so as not to appear ridiculous before her own people,
or rejected by the Vatican City. The sensitivity of the Church in
America to the life of her people can he found in another paragraph:
The Washington State Catholic Conference in 1983 addressed
the matter of justice in 'The Prejudice against Homosexuals
and the Ministry, of the Church). The bishops responded to
concerns of parents about homosexual teachers in schools:
'There are those who think that gays and lesbians inevitably
impart a homosexual value system to children or that they will
molest children. There is no evidence that exposure to
homosexuals, of itself, harms a child . . . Accordingly, there is
no need to make efforts to screen out all homosexually
oriented persons from our educational system." 37
________________________
36
37
William C. McFadden, 1994, p.401.
McFadden, 401
The Catholic Church in Nigeria may nave one or two lessons to learn
from the Church in America and Europe, with particular reference
to their approach to the mystery of homosexuality.
In America,
William F. Powers notes how Long Island's Newsday ran a three-page
article that "more than 200 priests nationwide an.-believed to have
contracted AIDS, almost all through gay M -N further, "it cited Sipe's
estimate that almost one-fourth of all priests are gay. and half of those
are sexually active " In f a i r n e s s Powers added that Sipe's data has Ix-.-n
challenged. He himself, however, believe that "at any one time no more
than 50 percent of American priests practice celibacy."38
While cases of homosexuality may be farfetched among
Nigerian indigenous priests, some gossips indicate that some of them
are involved in i t . In more specific terms, there were reported
cases of some-missionary priests from Western Europe and America
who were said to be messing around with some Nigerian boys.
The other day, the Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Olubunmi
Okogie, was quoted as being worried that the Archdiocese is not
producing enough number of priests, "to keep pace with the
phenomenal rise in the population of Catholics in the
Archdiocese." 39 In America, a study that was said to be
commissioned by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops,
"reported that the serious morale problem within the ranks of the
priesthood has resulted in priests no longer encouraging young men
to follow in their footsteps." 40 Closer to home, an article titled:
"Concerning Clerical Continence", in a Nigerian daily newspaper
concludes that:
________________________
38
William F. Powers, 1992, 259.
39
Daily Champion, June 15, 2003, p.15.
40
William F. Powers, 1992, 259
Celibacy, from biblical sources, has never been a
mandatory injunction, especially for the clergy. So why
mandate it, and even continue to enforce it, particularly in the
face of so many deviations, from it? Do not these deviations
tell us something? . . . . Getting married does not lower your
clerical authority, spirituality, nor devotion to the things of
God's kingdom. For it is better to marry than to burn with
passion.41
The author, Chljoke Emole, has spoken of "deviations", without
defining what he meant by the pluralized term. It is not impossible that
homosexuality is included in the loaded noun. The basic concern
here, however, is that if it is scientifically discovered that some genes
in a person are responsible for homosexual orientation, homosexuals
deserve greater sympathy and accommodation from the Church and the
rest of humanity as a whole.
Parents in Face of Homosexual Marriage
The philosopher is often quoted as saying that humans are free even
when in chains. It would seem that, that applies to marital affairs, and
human sexuality, generally speaking. If, for instance, a young man is
really determined to become a priest, no amount of parental objection
can deter him, ditto for a girl who has made up her mind to become a
reverend sister. Many elders testified, in a series of interviews, that the
matter is not different with regard to choice of husband or wife. One
learnt that it is not always easy for parents to force a partner on a boy or
girl. The matter can be bad to the extent that a lady may run away even
after betrothal to a man that she was forced to marry. A lady may also
run away with a man to which the parents object, if he is the lady's
choice. It does not appear to matter whether the parents' objection is on
religious ground (such as a Catholic to Protestant), or on racial/ ethnic
________________________
41
Chijoke Emole, "Concerning Clerical Continence", in The Guardian, Friday,
December 22, 1995,25.
ground. A proverb that says it all is that one can force a horse to the
river, but cannot force it to drink water.
As a matter of fact, one has always thought that marriage is,
basically, the "yes" (or consent) of a woman to a man, and what takes
place in the church, mosque, shrine or registry, is but a blessing, a
celebration of that initial agreement. Unfortunately, if this
understanding is realistic, rather than sentimental, then, it can be said
that there may be numerous unformalized marriages in town,
including gay and lesbian marriages, that may be existing between the
couples that agree to be together for better for worse. Of course, this
view is not about what should happen or not happen, but real life
experiences. If one may ask, for the purpose of emphasis: Do parents
always have their way in deciding who their daughter or son marry?
Or, are parents always able to stop their children from becoming
celibate priests or religious? Can a parent really force a child to
become a priest or religious? If a Christian lady really decides to
marry a polygamous man, or a Muslim, are the parents able to stop her
in every case?
The bottom line is that experience reveals that the authority of
parents over their children is not absolute but limited. And that may
explain why the world is gradually yielding to gay and lesbian
marriages. It is often said that blood is thicker than water. One learnt
that it is not always easy for parents to reject and abandon a child
forever. Hence, accommodation and reconciliation often prevail in
course of time. Parents will eventually long to see their child, whether
he is in the seminary or in the priesthood, or their daughter, whether she
is in the convent, in a polygamous or mixed marriage. One day,
something will prick the parents to want to reunite with their son or
daughter, even if s/he is not ready to dissociate from a gay or lesbian
relationship. Generally speaking, it seems that many parents lack the
capability to permanently reject and alienate their children.
By the virtue of being parents, which implies heterosexual
union, it is difficult to see how any parent would encourage or like to
see a child involved in gay or lesbian relationship. But, as it is often
said, difficulties do arise from unexpected quarters. When they do
arise, the only person who can feel them most intimately is the one
who encounters them. And so, parents who have no gay or lesbian
children may not be in the best position to know how ii Ice-Is
(more so the Catholic clergy who are celibates). To know what
pains are experienced in having homosexual children, one's
conviction is that parents who have such children must
be consulted. Reading the Bible, or resorting to tradition may
not offer all the answer in this regard. Liane Cordes quotes an
interviewee as stating that:
By looking inside myself, and really examining the way I
fell, 1 got in touch with God and myself. I discovered many of
the things that are right and good for me that God has
written in all our hearts. Now. by listening to my inner voice
- call it conscience, God, what you will - and by obeying
what I hear, I have a peace of mind 1 never had before.42
That is very similar to what some homosexual athletes were
quoted as saying at the last Olympic Games at Athens, 2004. A
lesbian, Lisamarie Vizaniari from Australia, was quoted as saying:
."I am an elite athlete who just happen to be gay. Look at Maurice
Green - he's an elite athlete who just happens to be black. It's
irrelevant, it doesn't matter what your sexuality is." In the same
article, Chris Morgan (a reputed gay athlete) was quoted as saying:
________________________
42
Liane Cordes, The Reflecting Pond: Meditations for Self-Discovery
(San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988), p.5
I believe that many successful athletes have a real underlying reason
that drives their ambitions. I believe my sexuality is no accident, as it
gives me the psychological tools to succeed . . . . You will see that
I ' m totally unapologetic about my sexuality. I have deliberately
set out to gain respect from my peers through performance and have
never hidden the fact that I'm gay.43
With this type of attitude and grim determination, it is
difficult to sec how a parent can change the sexual orientation of
an homosexual person. Some scholars hold that a gay man or
woman has to "reject sexual stereotypes" that discriminate
against homosexuals. In the words of Nick Bamform, for instance:
If you grow up knowing that something you fee) within
the core of your being is right, when society says it is
wrong, then this makes you naturally sceptical of all that
society judges as being right or wrong. If you really
trust your feeling, it gives you a head start in setting
out on the path of following your own intuition, living
according to your own conscience rather than
conforming to the dictates of society.44
Thus, the matter may be much more complex than the Church
thought.
Conclusion
Both the Bible and the Magisterium are quoted as objecting to
homosexual practices. But, there seems to be a valid exegetical
argument that, while some condemnatory statements are found in
both the Old and the New Testaments, the Bible has not
systematically discussed homosexuality in the context of a sexual
orientation that leads to gay and lesbian marriages.
Moreover, some scientists are said to have contended that some
genes in a person may be responsible for homosexual
orientation, as distinguished from transitory homosexual practices.
From the scientific point of view, a person does not have to
desire or deliberately decide lo be homosexual. Based on this
scientific perspective, the Church in America, for instance, is
very sympathetic in protecting the human rights of
homosexuals, especially since the Second Vatican Council
advocated human dignity and basic human rights. Nevertheless,
the Roman-based Magisterium maintains that persons with
homosexual orientation should live celibate lives, rather than
engaging in homosexuality.
Thus, the Church does not appear to be realistically sensitive lo the
sexual need of homosexuals.
This study reveals that although homosexuality has not
constituted a national debate in. Nigeria, it exists in some
Nigerians. Beyond that, homosexuality is said to be thriving in
it line city corners (such as in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano,
Kaduna, Ibadan, and Enugu). Some homosexual crises have also
been reported in some students' hostels and prison yards. This
study also reveals that due to human differences and individual
freedom, parents may not always be in the position to influence the
sexual orientation and practice of their children to the extent that
they can become helpless in face of gay and lesbian marriages.
Should the problem become volatile, how will the Catholic Church
in Nigeria handle it? Should it be by referring to the Scripture and
ecclesiastical tradition alone, or together with a scientific
investigation of the factors? Bernard Joinet notes that scientists
"want to find a rational explanation to everything; they tell you
that AIDS is due to a virus and not to a witch or God's
punishment."45
One's suggestion is that the Church should reckon with
reason and scientific discoveries, together with the Scripture and
the ecclesiastical tradition. The Church in Nigeria should also put
into serious consideration the experience, and the approaches of
the Church in countries, such as the United States of America,
where homosexuality has become explosive, to pick and choose, as
applicable to the Nigerian situation. Contemporary men and
women are scientifically-minded, and they are pragmatic, to a
great extent. One would recommend that if it is scientifically
proved that some genes in a person are responsible for
homosexuality, then, the Church and the rest of humanity should
exercise greater sympathy and understanding for homosexuals.
More so, that some cultures are said to give divine regard to
homosexuals. On another note, many interviewees did not think
that the Church in Africa should break with the West as the
Anglican Church in Africa is threatening to do, on the ground of
approach to the issue of homosexuality, when there are much more
urgent socio-political and economic issues, such as war
corruption, women trafficking, exploitation, poverty,
hunger, and so on, that the Church ought to address.