Expectedly, the Catholic Bishops of the Lagos Ecclesiastical Province, comprising Lagos Archdiocese, Ijebu Ode, and Abeokuta Dioceses, have unequivocally declared that they would not bless same-sex marriage.
Their position was contained in a communiqué issued on Thursday consequent upon their January 26 plenary meeting in Lagos.
However, their position is contrary to that of Pope Francis, who shockingly permitted Catholic priests to formally bless same-sex unions. The Pope’s position is widely believed to have violated ancient Catholic Church doctrine.
Within the Catholic Church system, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking God to look favourably at the person(s) being blessed.
In the communique released on Thursday and signed by the body’s chairman and secretary, the Archbishop of Lagos, and the Bishop of Ijebu-Ode, Most Rev Alfred Martins and Most Rev Francis Adesina respectively, it categorically stated: “No to blessing of same-sex unions.”
The communique further stated that they were in “total agreement with the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and that of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar concerning the blessing of homosexual unions or same-sex couples.
“We affirm that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage as the union of a man and a woman in a stable and exclusive relationship, open to bearing children, remains the same. We also affirm the Church’s teaching on human sexuality and urge the faithful to be guided by it,” they concluded.
The Vatican had earlier in 2021 decreed that the Catholic Church would not bless gay marriages because God “cannot bless sin”.
However, there was a twist in 2023 when Francis hinted that he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex unions.
