NAIROBI, Kenya, July 5, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com)
– Among the chorus of African leaders responding to Obama last week
after the president urged Africans to accept homosexuality was a Kenyan
Cardinal, who strongly urged Obama to “forget” his promotion of
homosexual behavior.
“Those people who have already ruined their society...let them not
become our teachers to tell us where to go,” said Cardinal John Njue,
Archbishop of Nairobi and president of the Kenyan Episcopal Conference.
“I think we need to act according to our own traditions and our faiths,” he added.
On June 28, Obama began a three-country tour of Africa by celebrating
two U.S. Supreme Court decisions liberalizing homosexual “marriage,” and
then offered a thinly-veiled criticism of his host nations.
“My basic view is that regardless of race, regardless of religion,
regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, when it comes to
the law, people should be treated equally,” he said in Senegal. “And
that's a principle that I think applies universally.”
Homosexuality is illegal in [38 African nations], including Senegal,
which bans any “improper or unnatural act with a person of the same
sex.”
The remarks prompted a quick response from Senegal President Macky Sall, who insisted his nation “is not homophobic” and is “very tolerant.”
The U.S. president was also rebuked by Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto. Speaking at a Catholic Church, Ruto said, “Those who believe in other things, that is their business…We believe in God.”
“This nation, the nation of Kenya [is] sovereign and God-fearing,” he added.
“America has made tremendous contribution to Kenya’s well-being and we
are very grateful and as a government we are ready to receive any help
from America that will improve the lives of our people,” Ruto stated.
“But for these other things we hear, it is none of our business as it
goes against our customs and traditions.”
The cultural clash on homosexuality has often been exacerbated because
Western nations frequently threaten African nations with a loss of
foreign aid over the issue.
