Catholic Archbishop Of Jos Says Government Shouldn't Punish Gays

oge okonkwo

October 11, 2014 10:19 AM

Archbishop Kaigama said the church only supported some parts of the law that states marriage is between a man and a woman

The Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama, in a recent address said the Catholic Church in Nigeria is against any discrimination of gay people living in the country.

Speaking at the Vatican to The Tablet - an international Catholic news site, Archbishop Kaigama said the church only supported some parts of the law that states marriage is between a man and a woman, adding that there had been a “gross misinterpretation” of this by the media.

Earlier this year, a new law that hands out a 14-year prison sentence to anyone entering a same sex union was adopted in Nigeria. The law also bans public displays of affection between homosexual couples.

The Archbishop said, “We are not supporting the criminalisation of people with different sexual." He continued : “We would defend any person with homosexual orientation who is being harassed, who is being imprisoned, who is being punished.”

He added: “The Government may want to punish them – we don’t. In fact we will tell the Government to stop punishing those with different orientations.”

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