Africans are ‘special case’ when it comes to samesex marriage blessings – Pope

Head of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide, Pope Francis, has described Africans as a “special case” in the opposition of bishops and many other people in the continent to accepting samesex marriage and homosexuality.

The Pope who made the assertion in an interview on Monday, said he was confident that, except for Africans, critics of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples would eventually understand it.

Pope Francis had late last year, caused global controversy when he announced that blessings would be allowed for samesex unions in a document called Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), which caused widespread debate in the Catholic Church, with particularly strong resistance coming from African bishops.

“Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups,” Francis told Italian newspaper La Stampa in the interview.

“A special case are Africans: for them homosexuality is something ‘bad’ from a cultural point of view, they don’t tolerate it.

READ ALSO:Pope Francis suggests Catholic church could give blessing to same-sex couples

“But in general, I trust that gradually everyone will be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: it aims to include, not divide,” the pope said.

Previously, Pope Francis had appeared to acknowledge the pushback the document received, especially in Africa, where bishops have effectively rejected it and where in some countries same-sex can lead to prison or even the death penalty.

He had noted that when the blessings are given, priests should “naturally take into account the context, the sensitivities, the places where one lives and the most appropriate ways to do it.”

But in the latest interview, he seems to have taken a step back as he says he was not concerned about the risk of conservatives breaking away from the Catholic Church due to his reforms, saying that talk of a schism is always led by “small groups.”

“We must leave them to it and move on…and look forward”, he added.

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