'We receive it with great joy' — Catholic Bishops Conference welcomes passage of anti-LGBTQ+ bill

The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference has welcomed the passage of the controversial Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2026 by Parliament.

Parliament passed the bill after a heated debate on the floor of the House on Friday, May 29.

The legislation seeks to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities and prohibit the promotion, sponsorship and advocacy of what it describes as non-conventional sexual relations and family values.

Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM's Eyewitness News on the same day, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, said the Church and other religious bodies were pleased with Parliament's decision.

“I just heard that Parliament has passed the bill. If Parliament has done so, as we have heard, then you should expect that the Church, and not only the Church, all the religious bodies in Ghana and many other Ghanaians who have advocated and have requested for this bill to be passed, we Christians, including Catholics, join them to say congratulations to Parliament for work well done,” he stated.

“We receive it with great joy,” Most Rev. Gyamfi added.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference has been one of several religious organisations that publicly supported the legislation and called for its passage.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Assin South and co-sponsor of the bill, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has criticised amendments introduced before the legislation was passed.

The lawmaker argues that the amendments have weakened key provisions intended to curb the promotion and support of LGBTQ+ activities.

In a social media post on Saturday, Rev. Ntim Fordjour alleged that the changes grant immunity to certain categories of persons and institutions that may engage in activities related to LGBTQ+ advocacy.

The amendments cited by the MP exempt a number of activities from the scope of the prohibition, including legal representation, submissions before courts and Parliament, academic and scientific publications, public health programmes, medical and counselling services, journalism carried out in the ordinary course of work, HIV and AIDS prevention programmes, and communications protected under the Evidence Act.

According to Rev. Ntim Fordjour, the exemptions fundamentally alter the purpose of the bill as originally drafted and passed by Parliament in 2024.

However, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has defended the amendments, explaining that they are intended to narrowly define exemptions to ensure that professional services and routine activities are not wrongly interpreted as promoting LGBTQ+ activities.