Section 377A should not be repealed under present circumstances: Archbishop of Singapore

SINGAPORE — The Catholic Archbishop of Singapore on Tuesday (Sept 18) spelt out his position on Section 377A of the Penal Code, saying the law which criminalises sex between men “should not be repealed under the present circumstances”.

In a pastoral message addressed to the Catholic Church, Most Reverend William Goh also spoke of his dilemma after receiving appeals from opposing camps to support their position, even as he appealed to all Catholics to “make a conscientious decision to reject the repeal for the future of our families, humanity and society”.

“It is a delicate dilemma for any leader to have to negotiate. I feel trapped, just as Jesus must have felt when the Pharisees posed to Him the question of whether divorce was lawful, or whether it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor,” he said.

The debate over Section 377A in Singapore was recently reignited by the Indian Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to strike down a similar law. Since then, petitions have been started by activists on both sides of the divide, religious groups have weighed in, and a deejay has filed a fresh legal challenge.

In his message, where he also touched on the “moral, social and legal implications of upholding or repealing” Section 377A, Archbishop Goh said that by “accepting homosexual acts as a social norm, the dreadful consequences for the stability of our families, the well-being of our children, and the risks to the common good will be long-term and irreversible”.

He pointed out that he would not object to a repeal of Section 377A “if it were merely aimed at removing all potential criminal penalties against homosexuals”.

“However, until and unless Parliament puts in place a formulation that more perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the law, guaranteeing the protection of the rights of the majority who favour the traditional family, and that no further demands be made to legalise same-sex unions, same-sex adoption of babies, surrogacy, or to criminalise those who do not support the homosexual lifestyle, I am of the view that Section 377A should not be repealed under the present circumstances,” he said.

Commenting on the Indian court ruling, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam told reporters last week that Singapore is “deeply split” on the issue. While the majority oppose a repeal, a “growing minority” want it to be abolished, with the Government stuck in the middle.

Giving his personal views on the law for the first time, Mr Shanmugam said that when it comes to “people's lifestyles… (and) sexual attitudes… (we) really should be careful in treating them as criminal or criminalising that”.

“But again, it would be wrong for me to impose my personal views on society or as a policymaker,” he said. “So I think, really, society has got to decide which direction it wants to go, and the laws will have to keep pace with changes in society and how society sees these issues.”

Mr Shanmugam also reiterated that while the law is there, there have generally been no prosecutions for private conduct. “People openly express themselves as gay, I mean you have got the gay parade. Police even approved the licensing for it, no one gets prosecuted for declaring themselves as gay. So, really, when was the last time someone was prosecuted?” he said.

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung has also weighed in on the issue, stressing that there is no discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community "at work, housing (and) education" in Singapore.

Echoing Mr Shanmugam's view that society has to decide on the direction, he added during a business conference on Friday: “We might be the largest animal in the jungle, but we are not the jungle. Some things we leave it to society to decide over time."

‘A FINE LINE’  

In his message, Archbishop Goh made it clear that right from the outset, “all the faithful are important to me, regardless whether they have same- or opposite-sex attraction”.

He added: “On one hand, I feel the struggles and pains of those with same-sex attraction who sincerely love God and desire to live up to His divine plan for humanity. I feel with them when they are ostracised or marginalised by society. They, too, deserve to be loved and treated with dignity and respect.

“On the other hand, I share the anxieties and fears of those who subscribe to the traditional and scriptural views of marriage and family, that repealing Section 377A would lead the country down a slippery slope. This is because repealing the law will not be the end of the saga. Rather, it would only embolden the push to legalise same-sex unions, same-sex adoption of babies, surrogacy, and even the criminalisation of those who hold contrary views of marriage and who oppose same-sex unions.”

To transcend the legal issue, “we must go beyond a legalistic interpretation of the law”, he reiterated.

“What is important is to ask, what is the intention of Section 377A? Is it intended to penalise the homosexual by punishing him for sexual acts? Does this law run counter to the Holy See’s condemnation of ‘unjust discrimination’ against homosexuals? The Church walks a fine line on this issue,” he noted.

While the Catholic Church joined with two-thirds of the United Nations member states in rejecting a proposal to decriminalise homosexuality in December 2008, it also urged them to eliminate criminal sanctions for homosexual behaviour. “In other words, the Holy See’s stance dovetails with that of the Singapore Government,” the archbishop pointed out.

He added: “Clearly, the spirit of both the moral and civil laws is to emphasise that same-sex unions are not a social norm as they do not help to foster fruitful and life-giving marriages or cohesive families which are the bedrock of a strong and stable society.”

This is also intended as a safeguard to prevent champions of “gay rights” from taking their cause beyond the mere repeal of Section 377A, he said.

Concluding his message, the leader of the Catholic Church in Singapore warned against following in the footsteps of some other countries. The website on which the message was published also carried a link to a petition to retain Section 377A, and the email address of government feedback unit Reach for people to express their support for the law.

Archbishop Goh said: “Looking at the dire consequences for countries which normalised same-sex unions and the ramifications that followed, may we not repeat the mistake that others have made. I pray that we will not walk the slippery path of no return."