The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has clarified a recent statement credited to global head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, that the Church may bless same-sex marriage, saying the Pontiff was only talking about inclusion.
Archbishop Ndagoso, who made the clarification during an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP in Kaduna on Friday, said: “The Holy Father has been talking about inclusion.
“The point the Holy Father is making is about pastoral care, the pastoral care of those who live in this kind of situation. God doesn’t abandon us even while we are sinners, God didn’t wait for us to be righteous before sending His son Jesus Christ to save us.
“The point Pope Francis is making is that there are people who find themselves in this relationship. In their situation, should we as a church abandon them? Do you exclude them? Do you say you have nothing to do with them, will God do that to anybody?
“The point is that whether you are a sinner or whatever, God never abandon us in any situation we find ourselves in life.
“And, therefore, the Holy Father is talking about pastoral accompaniment, if somebody has done something that you consider wrong and you abandon the person, you create a barrier between you and the person, as a church representing God, when people find themselves in this kind of situation, we don’t abandon them, we accompany them to see how they will get to understand what God really wants from them.
