Cardinal Peter Turkson, a prominent figure in the Catholic Church, has opined that LGBTQ activities should not be criminalized but rather, people should be educated to help understand the issue better.
In an interview with Stephen Sackur on BBC’s HARDtalk Show, Cardinal Turkson articulated that there’s the need for more people to be educated to understand the reality that those who engage or associate with LGBTQ activities have committed no crime and hence must not be treated as such.
“My position has simply been this, that LGBT, gay people may not be criminalised, because they’ve committed no crime, but neither should this position also become something to be imposed on cultures, which are not yet ready to accept stuffs like that,” he said.
It is time to begin education, to help people understand what this reality, this phenomenon is. We need a lot of education to get people to make a distinction between what is crime and what is not crime,” he added.
His answer followed a question asked during the interview in relation to the bill currently in the Ghanaian Parliament seeking to impose stiffer punishment on LGBT practices in Ghana.
Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has called for work on the anti-LGBTQ bill, Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values, to be expedited. The proposed legislation aims to outlaw LGBTQ+ activities and associated conduct.
The proposed legislation has sparked heated debates across the nation, with supporters arguing that it aligns with cultural and religious values, while opponents contend that it poses a threat to fundamental human rights.
