THE church is disturbed by recent happenings concerning the LGBT which has been received with much displeasure and disapproval by the general public.
And it is unfortunate the law enforcement agents and the President who took oath to protect the Constitution seem to be paying a blind eye, Lusaka Catholic Church Archbishop Dr Alick Banda has said.
Archbishop Banda said the question that begged an answer was: Is it by design or by default?
The Archdiocese of Lusaka, through its Directorate of Integral Human Development, is embarking on raising awareness against offensive trends which seem to be on the increase in society, Archbishop Banda said.
Archbishop Banda said in the last 12 months, the country had witnessed an increase in the number of incidents and events that promoted lesbian and gay tendencies contrary to the Laws of Zambia and culture.
Additionally, there has also been an increase in the number of incidents of sodomy where boys and men are raped by fellow boys and men with impunity.
He noted that last Friday, when a group of concerned citizens decided to carry out a peaceful protest to raise awareness to the ever escalating cases of homosexuality and sodomy in the country, the Police were quick to apprehend them together with journalists who were covering the event.
“These were detained, arrested and charged with unlawful assembly,” he said.
Archbishop Banda said these events were alarming and if nothing was done to raise awareness among the people, LGBTQ+ will become an acceptable norm in the country, despite the existence of laws that criminalise these activities and worse still being offensive to local cultural and Christian values.
He said to this effect, the Arch Diocese of Lusaka would communicate an action plan in the next couple of days, spelling out the way forward and in the meantime, the church has encouraged all faithful to pray and fast against all these vices that seem to be accepted by the authorities that be.