Pope brings gays hope

23 November 2015 - 02:09 By Reuters

African gays who often face persecution in the streets and sometimes prosecution in the courts have a simple plea for Pope Francis ahead of his first visit to the continent: bring a message of tolerance even if you will not bless our sexuality. Francis travels to Kenya and Uganda, where many conservative Christians bristle at the idea of the West forcing its morality on them. He also visits conflict-torn Central African Republic on a tour that starts tomorrow.While Francis has reaffirmed the church's opposition to same-sex marriage, his inclusivity has cheered many gay Catholics but annoyed conservatives."I would like the pope to at least make people know that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender is not a curse," said Jackson Mukasa, 20, a Ugandan in Kampala who was imprisoned last year for allegedly committing homosexual acts, before charges were dropped for lack of evidence.Homosexuality or gay sex is outlawed in most of Africa's 54 states. South Africa is the only African nation that permits gay or lesbian marriage. The Catholic Church holds that being gay is not a sin but homosexual acts are.Uganda, which is about 40% Catholic, has been seen as a bastion of anti-gay sentiment since 2013, when it sought to toughen penalties.Frank Mugisha, director of Sexual Minorities Uganda and one of the country's most outspoken advocates for gay rights, said he hoped the pope would bring a message that gays and lesbians should be "treated like any other children of God".A government spokesman, Shaban Bantariza, said: "We hope the pope's message will not diverge from the core beliefs of Ugandans.""We do not view homosexuality as normal but also we have chosen not to persecute those who have fallen victim to it," he said.Francis heartened gay Africans early in his papacy when he said: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge him?"Now they hope he will take his message further to say "Love everybody"...

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