Catholic Bishops throw weight behind Ghana’s anti-gay bill

The Ghana Catholic Bishop Conference has thrown its weight behind the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (anti-LGBTQ+ bill), which is currently being considered by parliament.

In a statement issued by the president of the conference and Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Gyamfi, the bishop indicated that even though the church is against the criminalisation of homosexuals and homosexuality, Ghana’s anti-gay bill is in the “right direction”.

The conference explained that it supports the current bill because it does not seek to criminalise homosexual or homosexual acts but rather establish laws against “criminal homosexual acts”.

“In this connection, we can state that the draft bill on ‘Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021’ currently in Parliament is in the right direction, as it seeks to enact laws against criminal homosexual acts.

“The bill aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, and provide for the protection of children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities, and other persons.

It added, “We commend our lawmakers for the effort and time spent on this bill. It is our hope that, when passed into law, it will indeed promote proper human sexual rights and authentic Ghanaian family values which are under threat from homosexual acts. It is also the hope of the Church that the bill will impose punitive measures that are commensurate with the crimes committed”.

The conference also explained that the state is at liberty to enact laws against homosexual activities if it is able to establish that it is becoming a danger to the growth of Ghana’s population.

“Again, the lawmakers may decide that a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman is not in the interest of the nation since, in the long term, it will have an effect on the size of the population of our country if many people do this. In such a case, the lawmakers will be within their rights to enact laws against that. In such cases, it will be right for the lawmakers to criminalize such homosexual actions by punitive measures. Thus, we can say that while it is not right to criminalize homosexuals just for being homosexuals, the State is within its right to criminalize the acts of homosexuals in the interest of the nation.”

Here is what the church said about Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill:

The State on Homosexuality

The Church recognizes that the State has a duty to carry out in this matter of
homosexuality. With regard to homosexual acts, while the Church speaks of them
as sins, the State does not use such language. For the State, whose duty it is to enact laws to govern the citizenry, the language used is that of crime. What then is a crime? “Crime” may be defined as an action or omission, which constitutes an offence and is usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and is punishable by law. In the light of this definition, homosexual acts from the point of view of the State may be criminal in nature. For example, if a homosexual man rapes a teenage boy, that would be deemed a criminal offence, just as the same act carried out by a heterosexual man on a teenage girl would be deemed a criminal offence. In other words, these acts are not in the interest of the nation and, indeed, harm the nation. For this reason, there must be punitive measures to deal with such situations.

Again, the law makers may decide that a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman is not in the interest of the nation since, in the long term, it will have an effect on the size of the population of our country if many people do this. In such a case, the law makers will be within their rights to enact laws against that. In such cases, it will be right for the law makers to criminalize such homosexual actions by punitive measures. Thus, we can say that while it is not right to criminalize homosexuals just for being homosexuals, the State is within its right to criminalize the acts of homosexuals in the interest of the nation.

In this connection, we can state that the draft bill on “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021” currently in Parliament is in the right direction, as it seeks to enact laws against criminal homosexual acts. The bill aims to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, and provide for the protection of children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities, and other persons. We commend our law makers for the effort and time spent on this bill. It is our hope that, when passed into law, it will indeed promote proper human sexual rights and authentic Ghanaian family values which are under threat from homosexual acts. It is also the hope of the Church that the bill will impose punitive measures that are commensurate with the crimes committed.

Read the full statement below: