Excerpt from The National Catholic Register today:
As Synod Approaches, Nigerian Bishops Speak Up for the Family (1009)
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Nigeria’s bishops closed their latest assembly with a view toward the upcoming Synod on the Family, re-affirming the family while warning about homosexual activism.
The bishops said “we reaffirm the validity of the family as a divinely instituted community of persons made up of a man and a woman who are open to life in love, together with their children and relatives.”
They commended the Pope for his recent document Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus (Lord Jesus, the Meek Judge), which aimed at accelerating the process for investigating the nullity of a marriage.
“We pledge to use this new process for the pastoral and spiritual benefit of our people,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria said in a wide-ranging statement closing its second plenary meeting, held Sept. 10-18 in Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria's Rivers State.
The bishops also voiced “deep concern” about homosexual, bisexual and transgender activism in many parts of the world.
“We reiterate our unreserved condemnation of all acts of homosexuality as sinful and opposed to the natural law of creation,” they said. “We call on our government to continue to resist the attempt by some external governments and agencies to impose an acceptance of same-sex unions.
“Nevertheless, we maintain that persons with these orientations should be assisted pastorally, spiritually and psychologically, with respect for their dignity as human persons created in the image and likeness of God.”
