Ghana Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson told the BBC that being gay should not be considered illegal and that people should be helped to understand the issue of homosexuality better.
Turkson’s comments come as his country’s parliament discusses a bill that would impose harsh penalties on LGBTQ+ people. Also, his views are at odds with Roman Catholic bishops in Ghana, who say homosexuality is “despicable.”
In July, the parliament backed measures in a proposed bill that would make identifying as LGBTQ+ punishable with a three-year prison sentence. People who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights could also face up to 10 years in jail.
Turkson, 75—who has been regarded as a future candidate to become pope—told the BBC’s HARDtalk program that “LGBT people may not be criminalized because they’ve committed no crime.” Recently, Pope Francis suggested he would be open to having the Catholic Church bless same-sex couples; he also stated that trans people may be baptized and act as godparents or witnesses to marriage under the same conditions as any other adult.
—Andrew Davis