Pope Francis disappointed LGBT advocates by failing to address anti-gay laws during his visit this weekend. The same was true for his visit to Kenya, though New Ways Ministry notes that Francis did talk generally about individual freedom and “working to shape a society which is ever more just, inclusive and respectful of human dignity.”
Uganda’s ethics minister had told the Associated Press, “I am praying that he doesn’t talk about [gay rights] because it will open a Pandora’s box.” While some activists had hoped Francis would “tell fellow believers that we are human beings like them,” church officials had downplayed the possibility:
“John Baptist Odama, the Archbishop of Gulu, did not believe that the Pope will address homosexuality because there is a clear teaching of the church on homosexuality.
“Because the aim of it is not to promote life but to act against it, those with that tendency are called to abstinence.”
While in Uganda, Francis visited a shrine to a group of 19th-Century martyrs, Catholic and Anglican men who were brutally executed by a traditional king because, according to lore, they refused his sexual advances, though some scholars say it was because of their dedication to defending and spreading their faith. Their martyrdom was cited by Theresa Okafor at the World Congress of Families as an explanation for Uganda’s harsh Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Al Jazeera’s Priyanka Gupta interviewed LGBT advocate Frank Mugisha about the Pope’s visit and the role of the Church in promoting homophobia.
The pope’s visit came shortly after the parliament passed a new law that gives the government vast new powers to shut down community organizations for a variety of reasons.
One clause would require charities to “not engage in any activity which is … contrary to the dignity of the people of Uganda”, which proponents fear could be used to clamp down on groups working to help LGBT people in Uganda.
It would also allow groups to be disbanded “where it is in the public interest to refuse to register the organisation, or … for any other reason that the Board may deem relevant”.
The East African Court of Justice ruled in favour of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’ request to join as amicus a case being brought by the Human Rights Awareness & Promotion Forum against the Attorney General of Uganda seeking a ruling that the provisions of Uganda’s 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act violate the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
