The resolve is clear. Pope Francis stated that the Catholic Church cannot bless same sex unions. Part of the basis of this decision was said to be that the it ¨is not licit¨ for the church to bless relationships that involve sex outside of marriage.

Pope Francis further clarified this with the statement,

¨The  presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued an appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing¨

Massioli Faggioli, a professor of religious studies at Villanova University had this to say on this verdict,

¨This is an important document because it shows how far Pope Francis is willing to go and where he wants to stop¨

But, is it really the Pope’s decision to make?

The internet was taken by storm by this decision and expressed different very heated views on the subject. Below are some sentiments expressed :

The above sentiment expressed by many can be said to coincide with the Bibles viewpoint. A screenshot of a bible passage condemning the act can be seen below;

One would think that the above scripture alone would clearly show Gods view on the subject. If such acts can deter one from entering into the the Kingdom of God, then is it not a reflection of his condemnation of homosexual acts?

The other view expressed online can be summed up by the comment below

However, does love by definition boil down to the acceptance of every and any act? Could it be more cohesive with the Word to instead view matters is this way; God is love and that never changes, so would He then deny us of anything that would benefit us tremendously? Or does it mean that since He is love, he is no longer allowed to set standards for those that choose to worship him to abide by?

Some have argued that this is an infringement of the gay society rights . However, there is also the right to worship. Which is more important? Is this verdict really being forced on the gay society or its for those that, in this case, choose to worship in this way?

What are your views on the matter.

Let us know in the comment section below.

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Full statement from the board below:

The Board of Governors of the St John’s Educational Trust would like to advise its stakeholders of the resignation of the Board Chairman Mr Charles Msipa with immediate effect. The resignation is by mutual agreement of the Board of Governors and Mr Msipa.

We would like to thank Mr Msipa for serving the Board for eight years and for his contribution to the school during his tenure. We wish him well in future endeavours.

The Board will advise of the incoming Chairman in due course. In the meantime, the board continues to work hard at dealing with the current issues for the good of the schools that we serve.

Yours faithfully Board of Governors St John’s Educational Trust

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Dr Neil Hovelmeier was motivated to come out after a local paper was about to ‘expose’ him in their next publication. Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe.

Parents of students went to the school and demanded that the Headmaster, Deputy and the whole school board resign, and they even engaged the services of a lawyer arguing that homosexuality “has no place whatsoever in a school environment where they are minors, who look up to your staff as their life models as they exercise their role”.

In his resignation letter Mr Hovelmeier said “I will not submit myself to a sham trial,”

Mr Hovelmeier has been at St Johns College for 15 years.

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