African Churches Silent on Africa's First Same-Sex 'Marriage' Law

Nairobi, Kenya - As homosexuals and lesbians in Africa celebrate the legalization of same-sex "marriage" in South Africa, the head of one of the continent's leading church associations, Rev. Mvume Ndadala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), said through a personal assistant that the AACC represented a "diversity" of Christians, and it would be inappropriate to give a common perspective on the issue. The remarks are seen as indicating that mainline churches in Africa may be softening their stance on same-sex unions, despite the strong objections by many Christian and traditionalist Africans.

Among those opposing the law was the African Christian Democratic Party, a faith-based political party in South Africa, which accused the ruling African National Congress of pandering for attention from Europe. "The fact that not a single cultural group, religious group, tribe or nation on the African continent agrees with the promotion of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle is a clear proof that the concept of homosexual marriage is foreign to us and should therefore be rejected," party leader Kenneth Meshoe said in an earlier statement. After the vote last week, Meshoe called it "the saddest day in our 12 years of democracy." Read More