Day: January 25, 2023

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.

 

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said during an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.

 

Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to the issue in terms of “sin.” But he attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.

 

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” he said, adding that they should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

 

Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust, which works to end such laws. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people.

 

In the U.S., more than a dozen states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 2003 Supreme Court ruling declaring them unconstitutional. Gay rights advocates say the antiquated laws are used to harass homosexuals, and point to new legislation, such as the “Don’t say gay” law in Florida, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as evidence of continued efforts to marginalize LGBTQ people.

 

The United Nations has repeatedly called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality outright, saying they violate rights to privacy and freedom from discrimination and are a breach of countries’ obligations under international law to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

 

Declaring such laws “unjust,” Francis said the Catholic Church can and should work to put an end to them. “It must do this. It must do this,” he said.

 

Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying gay people must be welcomed and respected, and should not be marginalized or discriminated against.

 

“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Francis said, speaking to the AP in the Vatican hotel where he lives.

 

Such laws are common in Africa and the Middle East and date from British colonial times or are inspired by Islamic law. Some Catholic bishops have strongly upheld them as consistent with Vatican teaching that considers homosexual activity “intrinsically disordered,” while others have called for them to be overturned as a violation of basic human dignity.

 

In 2019, Francis had been expected to issue a statement opposing criminalization of homosexuality during a meeting with human rights groups that conducted research into the effects of such laws and so-called “conversion therapies.”

 

In the end, the pope did not meet with the groups, which instead met with the Vatican No. 2, who reaffirmed “the dignity of every human person and against every form of violence.”

 

On Tuesday, Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.

 

“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”

 

“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.

 

Catholic teaching holds that while gay people must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis has not changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.

 

Starting with his famous 2013 declaration, “Who am I to judge?” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has gone on to minister repeatedly and publicly to the gay and trans community. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids.

 

Despite such outreach, Francis was criticized by the Catholic LGBTQ community for a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s doctrine office that the church cannot bless same-sex unions “because God cannot bless sin.”

 

The Vatican in 2008 declined to sign onto a U.N. declaration that called for the decriminalization of homosexuality, complaining the text went beyond the original scope and also included language about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” it found problematic. In a statement at the time, the Vatican urged countries to avoid “unjust discrimination” against gay people and end penalties against them.

 

Source: Voice of America

WASHINGTON — Top Chinese, Russian and American officials are scrambling this month to visit African nations and pledge their commitment to the world’s fastest-growing continent.

 

As President Joe Biden prepares for a visit later this year, several of his top officials have recently visited Africa. There, they must balance the desire to secure the continent’s support against Russian aggression and Chinese ambitions with their promise to work to benefit Africa.

 

Washington says this is not about countering Russian and Chinese ambitions — though the U.S. has expressed dismay over African nations’ reluctance to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — but about building meaningful relationships in areas such as business, health, peace and security.

“Our partnership in Africa is not about — about other nations,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in response to a question from VOA. “Our partnership there, it’s — as demonstrated by our commitments at the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit — the United States sees African countries as genuine partners and wants to build relationships based on mutual respect.”

But the continent’s top diplomat says Africa, which was brutally colonized by European powers for centuries, is no one’s pawn. And, he pointedly added, China understands that.

 

“Africa refuses to be seen as an arena for influence struggles,” said African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki. “We are open to cooperation and partnerships with everyone, as long as they respect our principles, our priorities and our interests. The partnership we have with China is built on these principles.”

 

But as the most senior visiting U.S. official said recently, these great-power rivals are keenly aware of each other’s activities, especially as China and Russia flex their muscles globally.

 

“Many African countries are now plagued by high and unsustainable debt, and that’s undeniably a problem, and much of it is related [to] Chinese investment in Africa,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the latest U.S. official to visit. “So, I think that’s simply a factual statement. But this is not for us. This is not a competition with China. We want to deepen our engagement with Africa.”

Analysts say these two goals — real partnership, but also great power competition — are not mutually exclusive.

 

“We want to check the ambitions of an expanding Russia and an expanding China, but we also want to see African countries collectively develop more of a political voice for themselves in international fora and create prosperity for their citizens at home,” said Cameron Hudson, who researches Africa at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

 

“So, all of these things can be true at the same time. However, we’re not acknowledging that truth. We are acknowledging only one truth, which is that we want to see Africa develop. And I think it’s just more complicated than that.”

Analysts estimate that China has spent more than $1 trillion on its global Belt and Road Initiative, which builds infrastructure in the developing world. China maintains a strict stance of noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs.

 

During his first trip on the job, China’s new foreign minister rejected the notion of the continent as an ideological battleground, as it often was during the Cold War.

 

“No country, no people, have the right to force African countries and its people to take sides,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. “Africa should be a platform for international cooperation, not an arena for competition between major countries.”

The next top American official to visit in coming days will be Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, who previously oversaw the continent at the State Department.

And then, presumably, Biden himself. The White House said this week in response to a question from VOA that there are no concrete plans to announce yet.

 

Biden has framed the 11-month conflict in Ukraine as a fundamental struggle between democracies and autocracies. With Africa showing clear signs of democratic backsliding, Hudson wonders if Biden will keep those ideals in the forefront when he’s on African soil.

 

“Is he going to stick to those kinds of fundamental principles, which he says he holds, and have a very frank and honest and open dialogue with African states, criticizing them when it’s required, keeping the distance when it’s required?” Hudson asked.

 

“Or will he kind of ignore that or put that on a back burner so that he can build relationships that might advantage Washington at the U.N. or down the road politically?”

 

Source: Voice of America