Don’t encourage LGBTQI+ practice in Ghana — Catholic bishop John Louis

Most reverend John Kobina Louis, the Auxiliary Bishop of Accra Archdiocese has said Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex ( LGBTQI+ ) practices are an abomination to Ghanaian culture.

He noted that such practices must not be encouraged in Ghana.

His comment comes after Pope Francis formally permitted Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples in a significant shift in Vatican doctrine.

The blessings may be carried out provided they are not part of regular church rituals or liturgies, nor at the same time as a civil union, according to a Vatican document approved by the Pope.

Speaking in an interview with the media on the sidelines of a visit to St John of God Catholic Church at Amrahia in the Greater Accra Region on Sunday (24 December), Louis said God’s commandment is against such practices.

“God is the creator of the world, He also created man in his own image, so the Bible makes us understand that in the beginning, God created man and woman in his own image and created marriage so that we can procreate,” he said.

“So, marriage is between man and woman, it is not something that man instituted after he was created. It is God who instituted marriage. So, in recent times this issue about gay marriage and LGBT, God’s commandment is against it.

“It is an abomination that a man should marry a man or a woman should marry a woman as a couple. Even our culture frowns upon it, so Ghanaians, or African or the world must not encourage such practice,” Louis said.

Confirmation
The Auxiliary Bishop of Accra Archdiocese confirmed some candidates who had prepared to receive the sacrament of confirmation from St John of God and two outstations namely St John Paull II and St Cyril.

Mission House
He also used the opportunity to cut the sod for the construction of a mission house for the St John of God Catholic Church.

The mission house is one of the requirements necessary for the church to attain the status of a parish.

The mass was attended by some dignitaries including the Member of Parliament for the Adentan Constituency, Mohammed Adamu Ramadan, municipal chief executive of Adentan, Daniel Alexander Nii Noi Adumuah and a representative of the chief of Amrahia.