Margaret C. Galitzin

Reporting on a piece of good news for a change, I want to congratulate
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni who, facing intense hostile Western
pressure, signed an anti-homosexual bill into law on February 24, 2014. Such
an action, which once would have been viewed as routine in the Christian
West, is denounced today as “draconian, offensive and an affront to basic
rights” by world leaders – secular and religious. (1)

By the way, for those Catholics infected by liberalism who may be shocked at
his statements, there is nothing new in them. Before Vatican II, this is what the
Catholic Church always taught and did to protect society and raise the youth
well.
As for possible international sanctions imposed as retribution for his action,
President Museveni was indifferent. He noted that Uganda – the most
populous country in Africa and a major oil producer – “does not need aid
because aid is in itself a problem.” By way of note, the United States buys
70% of Uganda’s oil and depends on this African nation as an important U.S.
ally in counter-terrorism in East Africa. Notwithstanding, Secretary of State
John Kerry did not delay in issuing a statement against the legislation, calling
it “a tragic day for Uganda and for all who care about the cause of human
rights.” (3)

President Museveni replied: “Outsiders cannot dictate to us. This is our
country. I advise friends from the West not to make this an issue, because the
more they make it an issue, the more they will lose. If the West does not want
to work with us because of homosexuals, then we have enough space to
ourselves here.” After he affirmed this, a loud applause burst from the
audience. (4)

Finally, he addressed the feeble argument that homosexuals were born that
way. He justified his action by quoting a study he had commissioned Ugandan
scientists to make. Their findings demonstrated that homosexuality was not a
genetic condition, but a choice, a learned moral and social behavior. “No
study has shown you can be homosexual by nature. That’s why I have agreed
to sign the bill,” Museveni said.
“We reject the notion that somebody can be homosexual by choice, that a
man can choose to love a fellow man, that sexual orientation is a matter of
choice,” Museveni continued. “They should rehabilitate themselves and
society should assist them to do so.” (5)
What the West is doing is nurturing the homo culture and lifestyle. What
Uganda resolved to do is to “discourage the trends” and encourage those with
the homosexual inclination to correct their bad tendencies. The law President
Museveni signed is a good way to do this.

Before Vatican II, the Church’s stand on homosexuality was clear-cut and
unambiguous. The action of President Museveni would have been supported
and applauded since it followed the general lines of legislation in all Catholic
nations. The Bishops would have stood as a bloc behind Ugandan Archbishop
Cyprian Kizito Lwango, who approved the law, reversing his position from
2009 when he opposed a similar bill.

Opposing ‘gay parades’, above in Johannesburg, or ‘gay marriages’ below, also permitted in South Africa

Today, things are sadly quite different and much more confusing. Catholics
are instructed to believe that homosexual inclinations are only “disordered.” At
the same time, we are now being told to respect the homosexual, affirm their
rights, and avoid any type of discrimination based on “the inviolable dignity of
man.”

As a result of this rickety position preached by the conciliar Church, there has
been more criticism than support for the Ugandan Bishops’ backing of the
recently passed law against homosexuality.
Pope Francis’ representative to Uganda, Papal Nuncio Archbishop Michael
Blume, expressed his shock when the Parliament passed the bill, and publicly
affirmed the Church’s opposition to the bill. Shortly afterward, he issued a
statement saying he would be working with Uganda’s Bishops on the matter.
It seems his interference is having its effect. The Uganda Bishops’ are already
starting to retreat from their good position. Msgr. John Baptist Kauta,
secretary general of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, is now saying that the
Bishops are reserving judgment on the new bill since they are “for
compassion” not penalties. (6)
It is not difficult to find Bishops who are publicly adamant in supporting the
homosexual platform. “The Catholic Church does not want homosexuals to be
treated as criminals,” affirmed Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, one of
Pope Francis’ top advisers. He justified his position by citing Francis himself:
“The Church stand is, ‘Who am I to judge them?’ as the Holy Father has said.”
(7)
This shameful position of Francis found a precedent in Benedict’s stance
during the 2009 debate over the earlier version of a Ugandan anti-homosexual
law. While the bill was being discussed, the Vatican legal attaché to the
United Nations publicly stated that “Pope Benedict is opposed to ‘unjust
discrimination’ against gay men and lesbians,” a statement clearly aimed at
the Ugandan bill.
Along the same lines, Ireland’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has gone so far
as to say that “anybody who doesn’t show love towards gay and lesbian
people is insulting God. They are not just homophobic if they do that – they are
actually Godophobic.” (8)
An ironic turn of events
For Ugandans, the bill represents their country’s principled stand against an
international campaign to import homosexuality and “gay rights” into their
country and destroy the traditional family.
In an interview with a CNN report, President Museveni stressed that the

influence of Western lifestyles risked destroying family life. His intention in
signing the bill was not politics, he continued, but to stand up for the truth, “the
truth for our country and our society.”(9)
Uganda is not alone in its good stand against homosexuality. The Ugandan
move comes after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a similar law
providing 14-year jail terms for homosexuality. In fact, this crime against
nature is prohibited and punished by jail sentences in 38 of Africa’s 54
countries.
There is a sad irony in this situation. Once Catholic Europe sent her zealous
missionaries to convert Africa and instruct them in Catholic Morals. Who
would imagine that today those same countries must be the ones to lecture an
immoral, debilitated West and a confused, tolerant Catholic Church?