Why does the African Catholic Church say NO to Vatican regarding the blessing of homosexual couples ?

Recently the Catholic Church has decided to grant blessings to the gay couples though the pope insisted that it does not mean that the church will be celebrating the union of two people of the same sex. However, the decision is not received with joy and determination to implement it every where the church is represented. Thus the African Catholic Church stands as one of the most pronounced fighters of the decision, and it is suitable to wonder why, especially when the region is among the most disciplined as far as the Church is concerned.

1- The Decision making process in the church

There is no democracy at the stricto sensu in the decision making process of the church according to the available information. The Pope is the holder of a unique spiritual and administrative role, thus stands as the ultimate decision making authority though he might consult sometimes the college of cardinals or other advisors. The final says regarding the doctrines, the discipline and the governance belong to the Pope. Such process do not fit in the democratic leadership values being promoted on the daily basics in our teachings in universities and schools and are hardly accepted days after days in our our societies, especially in this 21st century. The church leaders are often well educated and it is highly understandable to see them working on having their own opinions based on their understanding of the scriptures. In other words, the quality of the education received by the priests in general and the dynamics of the access to vital knowledge and information allow people in general and church leaders in this context to question the rightiousness of the decisions made by their Hirachy ( the Pope ). Especially when the decision made is considered by many to go against the traditional principles of the Catholic Church.

2- Cultural Resistance within the African Catholic Church

There is a basic point that has been consider by many to be lost in Africa, especially when Christianity and the catholic church is concerned: the power of culture. Even though a very strong doctrinal work has been done to make sure that churh leaders and church members fall in line with the aspirations of the Vatican, in Africa, signs of strong cultural tights have always existed. From the religious syncretism to the many attempts to contextualise or customized the religious practices, it seems obvious that African church leaders as much as their members have maintained throughout ages some relevant cultural tights with their traditions and some social practices. Thus the recent decision of the Pope encounters the cultural resistance of the African Catholic Church. Everything related to the acceptation of homosexuality in Africa currently faces a severe cultural resistance. The first line of resistance so far has been political, where several African countries are refusing to consider the LGBTQ+ as a human rights issue, some countries have gone so far as making laws to criminalize the practices of homosexuality, Uganda, kenya and Ghana appear to stand out. Looking at such resistance and the huge christian penetration in Africa, the option of passing through Vatican sounds quite attractive. Unfortunately for the attempt, most of the African priests, Bishops and other leaders have strongly voiced their determination in not respecting the decision of the Pope.

3- The risk of a divide within the Church

The decision made by the Pope is not just rejected by the African Catholic Church leaders, it appears that even within the Vatican some cardinals have expressed their strong desagreement. History recalls the fact that christianity was represented at the beginning by one and only churh, but due to some desagreement on religious principles we have witnessed several divisions giving birth to many branches of christianity: orthodox, protestants, baptists, evangelic, etc. This decision of the Pope if not revised could lead to another break up of the Catholic Churh, especially as far as the African catholic church is cincerned. However, this is not going to happen out of the blue, it will entail several meetings and decisions making of all the key actors of the Church.

One should pay attention to the strong African cultural tights that are triggering resistance in Africa politically, religiously and probably economically. The question is : How sustainable and productive this resistance could be? only the coming days might effectively tell.