ROME, Italy — Father Timothy Radcliffe, a gay rights activist, rejects reports that blame the African church's resistance to homosexuality on an influx of foreign funds, insisting his words have been “misinterpreted.” .
Radcliffe, who will be appointed cardinal by Pope Francis in December, blamed African opposition to homosexuality on “intense pressure” from outside influences, including wealthy evangelicals in the United States.
On October 12th article in the Vatican newspaper Rosselvatore RomanoFather Radcliffe insisted that the Catholic Church must be open to all people, including “divorced people, remarried people, homosexual people and transgender people.”
“But in some parts of the world, welcoming homosexuals is considered scandalous,” he wrote. “Many Catholic bishops in Africa see this as an attempt to impose decadent Western ideology on the rest of the world.”
British priests will discuss why African bishops cannot accept the Vatican document as Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, president of the organization representing all Catholic bishops in Africa, visits Rome in December 2023 I pointed out with sadness that I had explained that. Fiducia Supplican This opens the possibility of priestly blessings being given to gay couples.
“Never before have all the bishops on the continent repudiated a Vatican document,” Radcliffe said. “Every attempt was made to quell the crisis.”
“Is refusing to celebrate homosexuality in Africa an example of acculturation or a refusal to be a nonconformist?” asked Radcliffe. “Inculturation for one person is the same as rejecting an incongruous gospel for another.”
Curiously, when Father Radcliffe tried to explain why African bishops had united in rejecting a proposal to bless same-sex couples, he pointed to both the Bible's teaching on homosexuality and the church's unchanging condemnation of homosexuality. There was no mention of doctrine.
Instead, he suggested: “African bishops are under intense pressure from evangelicals with American funds. From the Russian Orthodox Church, with Russian money. And from Muslims, with funds from wealthy Gulf states.”
In other words, he seemed to be saying that if African bishops reject the idea of blessing same-sex couples, they cannot be out of fidelity to Christ and his gospel. It must represent a cave against external pressure.
However, Cardinal Ambongo had already given an explanation for the actions of the African bishops. states In Africa, “there is no place to celebrate gay couples. Not at all.”
The cardinal said blessings are given to individuals “with the hope that the grace of the blessing will aid their conversion.” “And when we bless homosexuals, we mean: 'Because your sexual orientation is against the will of God and because homosexuality is condemned by the Bible and the Magisterium, this blessing will change you. It's also saying, 'I hope this helps.'” The church. '”
“We cannot encourage sexual deviance. Let it happen in their homes, but not in our homes,” he said.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Father Radcliffe denied that African bishops were being swayed by foreign funds to suggest they rejected the pope. Fiducia Supplican.
“I have never written or suggested that the position of the Catholic Church in Africa is influenced by financial considerations,” he said in an official communiqué from the Vatican's synod office.
“All I was aware of was that the Catholic Church in Africa was under tremendous pressure from other religions and churches that were well-funded from outside.”
What the cardinal actually wrote was:
Bishops in Africa are under intense pressure from evangelicals using American funds. He is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church and has Russian money. And Muslims have money from wealthy Gulf countries. I should have talked to them before, not after, the publication of the book. [Fiducia Supplicans]. No matter what you think about this declaration, addressing and overcoming tensions requires all of us to think at a deep level and engage with each other.
In a further wrinkle worthy of church melodrama, Cardinal Ambongo himself expressed a similar opinion, saying he could not believe Father Radcliffe had actually written such a thing.
read english report About what Radcliffe said in his Rosselvatore Romano “I read this article in which we are accused of receiving money from Russia, the Gulf States and the United States through Pentecostal churches,” the cardinal said in the article.
“But we attend the conference and we follow Father Radcliffe's teachings, and we are not aware of anything Father Radcliffe said in the article you refer to.” Radcliffe answered a journalist who asked about the article.
“Father Radcliffe has never said these things and this is completely out of character for him,'' Mr Anbongo said. “I can assure you that this is completely false.''
In Wednesday's communiqué, Father Radcliffe asserted that “Cardinal Ambong'o's response did not refer to the article published in 2006.” Osservatore RomanoHowever, this is from Phil Lawler in Catholic Culture Magazine, October 17th. ”
among them articleLawler quotes Father Radcliffe. Rosselvatore Romano The article highlights the “intense pressure” felt by African bishops due to an influx of American evangelical, Russian Orthodox, and Islamic funding.
