Kenya and Nigerian Catholic bishops reject Pope's command to bless gay marriages. Pope Francis' authorization for Catholic priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples is not being received well in Africa. Kenyan and Nigerian Catholic bishops have both issued official statements regarding Pope Francis' decision to allow Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. The defiant Kenyan bishops maintain that the church's understanding of marriage as a sacrament between a man and a woman remains unchanged despite Pope Francis' announcement. While the Catholic bishops in Nigeria stated that blessings or celebrations of same-sex unions are against God's law and are considered sacrilegious within the Catholic faith, the bishops argued that every nation has a right to self-determination of its laws and cultural values. They called for respectful dialogue while upholding their view that same-sex blessings cannot be permitted within the Catholic church in Nigeria.