Sunday, May 29, 2011

Zambia: Catholic Members Demand Clarity On Homosexuality

The stance taken by the Catholic Church over homosexuality has confused the flock in the church who are now demanding that the leadership should come out clearly on the matter.

And a visiting clergyman has cautioned Zambians against electing leaders who are advocating homosexual rights, saying it is not Biblical.

A staunch Catholic, Hobday Kabwe said in Lusaka that the position of the church on the matter was confusing, especially that the leaders seemed to contradict themselves.

Mr Kabwe, who is a Lusaka lawyer, said it was confusing that while the church was calling the act as "seriously wrong and sinful" it was on the other hand saying homosexuals deserved respect and should not be discriminated against.

He said it was misleading for the Zambia Episcopal Conference president George Lungu to state that people should make a distinction between the homosexual act and homosexual orientation or inclination for which he said homosexuals were human beings who deserved respect.

"And what is this homosexual orientation and inclination our bishop is asking us to respect likely to achieve or result in?

"Is there a scripture or law of our land to back up the request to respect this homosexual orientation or inclination?" Mr Kabwe said.

He said since homosexual-related inclinations were criminal offences categorised together with defilement, rape, incest and abortion as offences against morality under the Penal Code CAP 87 of the laws of Zambia, it defied all perspectives and raised a lot of questions on why respect should be accorded to homosexuals alone among other offences against morality under the laws of Zambia.

Mr Kabwe said the Zambian Constitution called for the protection of every person against discrimination on account of race, tribe, sex, place of origin, marital status, political opinions, colour or creed and not on account of criminal suspects or convicts for such moral offences as homosexuality, homosexual related offences, defilement, incest and abortion.

And Apostle Stephen Mwanaliti, a Zambian based in Botswana, said in an interview that homosexuality was an alien practice to Zambia and described it as an act of witchcraft.

He advised Zambians not to elect leaders advocating homosexual rights, saying it was not Biblical and was an alien phenomenon to the country.

Apostle Mwanaliti of Hope of Glory Apostolic Ministries, who was guest pastor last weekend at the Dynamic Soul Saving Ministries in Chelston under Bishop Peter Kamima, described homosexuality as an act of witchcraft and advised Zambians to vote for God-fearing leaders.

He said the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation had made the country a blessed land.