Kenyan cardinal: homosexuality, prostitution should not be legalized

(May 09, 2012) Cardinal John Njue , Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, is urging lawmakers to reject a government-sponsored report recommending the legalization of homosexual relationships and prostitution. “If the two are allowed to happen, where will be our family?Will it not be a total destruction of the family? This is why we are totally against this” said the Cardinal. He urged parliament through its members to assist the Church campaign against the move. “We appeal to our MPs to lobby against the move on behalf of the Church and other institutions opposed to the two issues,” Cardinal Njue said at a fund-raising drive in Nairobi. The Church’s stand has received backing from the Muslim’s Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), whose Secretary General, Sheikh Mohammed Dor said that the country’s Constitution does not permit same sex marriages. “Article 45 of the Constitution states that every adult has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex,” he noted. Under Kenyan law, male homosexual activity is punishable by 14 years’ imprisonment. Although illegal, prostitution, including child prostitution flourishes in some coastal areas frequented by tourists.