NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 24 – Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has reinforced the decision by Catholic Archbishop Philip Anyolo to prohibit Nairobi-based clergy from blessing same-sex couple unions.
The Public Service Cabinet Secretary emphasized that the stand is for the Roman Catholic Church in the country saying the nation will never accept same-sex couples.
“The decision by Archbishop Amyolo on blessing of same sex couples is the position of all of us from the Roman Catholic Church in Kenya. We will never accept same sex couples in the Kenyan Church, with utmost and profound respect and reverence to the Pope,” he said.
Anyolo Sunday defied the order by Pope Francis to bless the union of same-sex couples saying any such activity would be scandalous to the faith.
In a statement to all Catholic churches under the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Archbishop Anyolo clarified that the declaration goes against the Word of God, the teaching of the Church and African Cultural Traditions.
Pope Francis had suggested he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples adding however, that the Church still considered same-sex relationships “objectively sinful” and would not recognize same-sex marriage.
“All Clergy residing and ministering in the Archdiocese of Nairobi are prohibited from blessing irregular relationships, unions, or same sex couples. Any form of blessing of same-sex unions and activities would go against God’s word, the teaching of the church,” he said.
Archbishop Anyolo argued that the concept ‘blessings’ of same sex couple will be perceived as normalizing sin which the Church has no authority to do in the faithfulness of the Gospel and the Institution of marriage.
“This Declaration confirms and reiterates the perennial teaching of the Church that marriage is to be affirmed as an “exclusive, stable and indissoluble union of a man and a woman, naturally open to the generation of children and that the Church does not have the power to impart blessings on unions of persons of the same sex,” said Anyolo’s statement in part.
In the Catholic Church, a blessing is a prayer or plea, usually delivered by a minister, asking for God to look favourably on the person or people being blessed.
The Catholic Archbishop explained that even though the ‘blessing’ would be done outside the liturgical rites it must be conformed within God’s will.
This coming days after The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) moved to clarify the controversial decision by the Vatican allowing priests to bless same-sex unions saying it only allows ‘simple blessings’ outside the liturgical setting.
The Kenyan bishops, responding to public concerns on the matter, said the move is meant to promote inclusion irrespective of the moral status of congregants.
The bishops said the directive sanctioned by Pope Francis was part of efforts to expand the scope of pastoral blessings administered by the church.
“This declaration does not in any way approve of “Same-sex Marriages” nor try to give a back-door recognition of such a union. It does not seek an alternative “union blessing” to substitute a Sacramental marriage,” said Most Rev Martin Kivuva, KCCB Chairperson, said.
“What this document seeks is to awaken the invitation of all people to God’s action and grace. The Church seeks to reach out to all individuals in order to stir them to the path of conversion and salvation.”
The Catholic Church came under heavy criticism for shifting from its earlier position after holding in 2021 that God “cannot bless sin”.
Archbishop Kivuva went on to explain that the decision “does not change in any way the understanding of Marriage as a Sacrament in the Church, an indissoluble union between a man and a woman, for life.”
Instead, the “Declaration remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion.”
