The Ghana Catholic Bishop Conference must explain how criminalizing people who are gay is biblical, the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Professor H Kwasi Prempah, has said.
He also asked the bishops to explain where exactly in the Bible Christians commanded to turn over gay people to law enforcement agencies for punishment.
“They are being more Catholic than the Pope! Saudi Arabia is a theocratic Islamic State. Ghana is not. The Church can condemn an ACT as a sin without advocating that the so-called sinners be criminalized. As the Pope has rightfully explained, being a homosexual is not a crime, though engaging in homosexual sex, like engaging in sex outside marriage, is a sin for Catholics. The Bishops must also tell us just how criminalizing people who are gay is biblical. Where exactly in the Bible are Christians commanded to turn over gay people to Caesar for punishment?” he wrote on is Facebook page.
Prof Prempeh further dared them to explain where or how the Constitution of Ghana permits or confers on the State the power to prescribe a monolithic sexual identity.
He says the more he hears the bishops speak on the anti-gay bill, the more he doubts that they have read or understood all the provisions of this bill.
His comments come at a time the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Reverend Father Clement Kwasi Adjei, told President Akufo-Addo to have a second view of his decision not to assent to the bill until after the Supreme Court has finished hearing the suits against the bill.
Reverend Father Clement Kwasi Adjei also told the president to uphold the constitution of the country in assigning to the bill.
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“The way things are going, it is not the best. I am not happy, and neither is the Catholic Bishops Conference. The President must follow the law he swore to uphold when he was sworn into office,” he said told Accra-based Joy FM.
He added “The constitution is the supreme law of Ghana and any law that is inconsistent with any provision in the constitution, for the sake of its inconsistency is null and void.
“So how can you write a letter telling parliament not to transmit the bill to the presidency? The constitution must be seen as the supreme law of the country. And in that constitution, any law enacted by parliament must be sent to the presidency,” he told host Aisha Ibrahim.
But in a Facebook post, Prof H Kwasi Prempeh, also a private legal practitioner said “Can the Catholic Bishops Conference tell us where or how the Constitution of Ghana permits or confers on the State the power to prescribe a monolithic sexual identity or orientation for all of society and to punish as criminals those who, for one reason or the other, do not or cannot conform to this state-imposed sexuality standard?
“They also should tell us what in the Constitution entitles the Ghanaian State to command adult citizens as to what persons they may or may not enter into consensual, adult romantic or other amorous relationships with? How exactly is any of this an appropriate role for a non-theocratic State?
“The more I hear the Catholic Bishops Conference and other clergy on this matter the more I am left doubting that they have read or understood all the provisions of this bill and the more questions I have about the soundness or integrity of the theology that informs their shamefully uncritical embrace of this deeply inhumane and ill-conceived bill.”
He added “Besides, calling this the ‘Anti-LGBT’ bill, as we all typically do, papers over the fact that this is not a single-clause bill but a bill with lots of provisions, each of which must be looked at on its own terms. Is the CBC saying that it supports all or most of the provisions in this bill? Why must any President sign a bill into law if he or she objects fundamentally to one or more provisions of the bill? I’m sorry but the CBC needs to go back and do its homework. We expect better from churches with a long theological and intellectual tradition.”
There is nothing urgent about the anti-lgbtqi bill – Attorney-General
Parliament on Wednesday, March 20 halted the vetting process for the nomination of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo following an interlocutory injunction filed at the Supreme Court by MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.
In his closing remarks to the House before adjourning on Wednesday, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin cited the lawsuit as the reason for the suspension of the vetting process, as it rendered Parliament unable to proceed with the nominations.
“Hon Members, I also bring to your attention, the receipt of a process from the Courts titled Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor vrs. The Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General ( Suit no. J1/12/2024) which process was served on the 19th of March 2024 and an injunction motion on notice seeking to restrain the Speaker from proceeding with the vetting and approval of the names of the persons submitted by His Excellency the President until the provisions of the constitution are satisfied.”