Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
Pope Francis (Photo courtesy of Sourcefed.com)
Pope Francis has avoided talking about homophobia during his trip to Africa, despite urgent pleas that he rein in the un-Christian hatred that many of his followers and other Christians display for LGBT people.
But Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) “still hopes that the Vatican will take sexual minorities issues seriously. We are open to working with the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Uganda as regards the issue of homophobia in Uganda,” the LGBT rights organization said on Facebook.
SMUG added:
“LGBT identifying Ugandans, especially Catholics, feel betrayed by the Church after Pope Francis avoided the topic of homophobia that has left LGBT-identifying Ugandans in the hands of a majority merciless (80% population) that believes homosexuality is taboo.
Frank Mugisha (Photo courtesy Facebook)
“Dr. Frank Mugisha, the executive director Sexual Minorities Uganda and a practicing Catholic, told Al Jazeera’s Priyanka Gupta that the pope’s visit has brought both hope and disappointment. This according to Dr. Frank Mugisha is because, although the Pope did not preach acceptance of homosexuality, he preached love of one another including the homosexual identifying population of Uganda.
“Frank says, ‘Criminalization of homosexuality puts LGBT people at greater risk of violence, being infected with HIV and committing suicide, and that is why we needed the Pope to speak up for us while he is here in Uganda.’
“He adds, ‘I am a Catholic and I prayed that he will call for the end of these criminal laws that torment us. Because these laws do not just discriminate; they kill us.’ ”
Pope Francis said nothing directly about the pervasive persecution and violence against LGBTs in African countries, including Uganda, while he was there. Instead, he told his crowds to be proud of their “African Traditions”. That is a dog whistle to Africans who claim that homosexuality violates “African Traditions”. Actually, it was part of genuine “African Traditions” before the “Christian” and “Muslim” colonialists forced their false, scapegoating, rabidly anti-LGBT dogma on Africans. Pope Francis is just another brainwashed/brainwashing, greedy filthy-rich’s partner, scapegoating, fake-Christian Nazi.
Reblogged this on Fairy JerBear's Queer/Trans News, Views & More From The City Different – Santa Fe, NM and commented:
It appears that the internal politics of the Vactican, particularly among African bishops and cardinals, prevented any comments about the evils of homophobia. The church has already said as much whilst not supporting same sex sexual activity and marriage. The Pope could have just said condemned prejudice against LGBTQ peoples without violating church reaching but he didn’t even go that far. Very disappointing!
Pope Francis said nothing directly about the pervasive persecution and violence against LGBTs in African countries, including Uganda, while he was there. Instead, he told his crowds to be proud of their “African Traditions”. That is a dog whistle to Africans who claim that homosexuality violates “African Traditions”. Actually, it was part of genuine “African Traditions” before the “Christian” and “Muslim” colonialists forced their false, scapegoating, rabidly anti-LGBT dogma on Africans. Pope Francis is just another brainwashed/brainwashing, greedy filthy-rich’s partner, scapegoating, fake-Christian Nazi.
Reblogged this on Fairy JerBear's Queer/Trans News, Views & More From The City Different – Santa Fe, NM and commented:
It appears that the internal politics of the Vactican, particularly among African bishops and cardinals, prevented any comments about the evils of homophobia. The church has already said as much whilst not supporting same sex sexual activity and marriage. The Pope could have just said condemned prejudice against LGBTQ peoples without violating church reaching but he didn’t even go that far. Very disappointing!