President Uhuru Kenyatta

Catholic bishops and Christian leaders throughout Kenya are boldly rebuking President Obama’s audacious condemnation of the nation’s laws against homosexuality during his recent visit to the African nation.

Breitbart is reporting on the aftermath of the president’s pro-gay campaign in Kenya which managed to do little more than alienate those he wished to convert to his way of thinking about same-sex relations.

“When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that’s the path whereby freedoms begin to erode,” Obama said at a joint press conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi on July 25. “And bad things happen.”

Under Kenyan law, homosexual relations between men is illegal and punishable with a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail.

President Kenyatta quickly rebuffed the president, saying that although the two countries had much in common, acceptance of homosexual activity was not one of them.

“It is very difficult for us to be able to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept,” Kenyatta continued. “This is why I repeatedly say for Kenyans today the (gay rights issue) is generally a non-issue. We want to focus on other areas.”

Kenyatta’s comments were greeted with applause.

Afterward, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese in Nigeria, said that the position of Catholics against homosexuality is irrevocable and will not change even though public acceptance of the practice is changing.

“Unfortunately, we are living in a world where these things have now become quite acceptable but for the fact that they are acceptable doesn’t mean that they are right. The Catholic Church considers itself as carrying the banner of the truth in the world that has allowed itself to be so badly deceived,” he said.

He went on to insist that the Church will not change its stance on human sexuality. “Even if people don’t like us for it, our church has always said homosexuality is unnatural and marriage is between a man and a woman. There is no such thing as marriage between two men or marriage between two women, whatever they do among themselves should not be called marriage. There is no question of the Catholic Church changing its positions on this matter,” he said.

Charles Gabriel Palmer Buckle, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Ghana, also weighed in on the President’s words, noting that the Catholic Church is against homosexual practice because it is contrary to the law of God, and called homosexuality “anti-human.”

“We will not respect homosexuality but have respect for homosexuals because they are created in the likeness of God. We are against them adopting children because it is difficult for homosexuals to raise a child to be responsible in the society,” he said.

In his Sunday sermon, the Archbishop urged the faithful to stand up for their beliefs in marriage and procreation. “The Church cannot but uphold the fundamental truth about marriage and family life and within the role of sex and sexuality in the whole of the human and social ecology,” he said.

Long before President Obama arrived in Kenya, he received a letter signed by 700 evangelical pastors from Kenya urging him not to try to push homosexuality on their country.

Mark Kariuki, the leader of an alliance representing 38,000 churches and 10 million Kenyan Christians, was the main drafter of the letter.

“We do not want him to come and talk on homosexuality in Kenya or push us to accepting that which is against our faith and culture,” Kariuki said. While he welcomed the president’s visit, he suggested that he leave “the gay talk” at home.

The United States is acquiring a bad reputation for pushing immorality abroad, and for tying financial assistance to acceptance of behavior many of our global partners deem offensive.

As Breitbart reports, in May, Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo, Nigeria, revealed that Africa’s position on homosexuality had proved to be an obstacle to American assistance in fighting the terrorist group, Boko Haram. He said the United States had made clear it would not help Nigeria fight Boko Haram unless the country modify its laws regarding homosexuality, family planning and birth-control.

“Homosexuals are God’s children,” Badejo said. “They have a right to be respected. They have a right to compassion. They have a right to be accepted as human beings. But there is a distinguishing factor between human rights and human behavior. I don’t have to accept homosexual behavior, just like I don’t have to accept drug addiction, robbery, and terrorism.”

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