The Roman Catholic Church does not condone or support homosexual practices, therefore assertions made in a recent radio discussion by a prominent commentator are baseless. This was stated by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, in an article to The Catholic Standard to clear the air on the issue of homosexuality which of late, has received a lot of attention in the media. Reportedly, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr., in a panel discussion on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” programme, accused the Catholic and the Anglican Churches worldwide “for their apparent support for homosexual practices.” Admittedly, Bishop Osei-Bonsu said “there have been instances of Priests who have been guilty of homosexual practices.” “We should note that in very grave cases where a civil or criminal trial has found a Priest guilty of the sexual abuse of minors, the laws of the particular country applied against the offending Priest, with the result that some Priests are in Prison as a result of such acts.” “We must also add that in cases of the sexual abuse of minors, even when no criminal trial has been instituted, where there is overwhelming evidence, the case may be taken to the Pope who will issue a Decree dismissing such as a Priest from the Priesthood.” He further explained that “it is also not true that gay marriages are being blessed in the United States by Catholic Priests.” He challenged Mr. Pratt will to give just one example of a Roman Catholic Priest in good standing with the church who did this in America and the name of the Church where this took place, he said. “Any Catholic Priest who blesses a gay marriage will be sanctioned by his Bishop or Superior and if the Bishop or Superior fails to do this, he himself will be sanctioned by Rome,” the Bishop added. Story by Isaac Fritz Andoh