The Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, Bishop Philippe Ouédraogo slammed same-sex marriage, saying it is an ‘assault on the family’ and aims to ‘demolish’ it, therefore threatening Africa and the world with destruction.

Ouédraogo made these remarks on Sunday (10 February) during the Diocesan annual Catholic pilgrimage which was held at the Our Lady of Yagama Cathedral.

The bishop said:’ ‘Today, some want to promote gay marriage at the expense of the family.

‘Our point of reference is the bible.

‘Genesis tells us that God created man and woman… this is the prototype couple … and nothing else’.

The prelate slammed gay marriage as he talked about a new service that his church was launching, the Nazareth Centre for the pastoral care of the family.

Ouédraogo ruled on out gay families as a reaction to the gay marriage debate in France, even though same-sex marriage remains illegal in Burkina Faso

For the bishop gay marriage is nothing less than a direct assault on the family: ‘Today, the family is attacked because some want to promote the marriage of gays at the expense of the family.

‘Therefore we should protect and defend the family.

‘If we demolish the family, we shatter our society.

‘If we demolish the family, we destroy our Africa and our world…’.

The Nazareth Centre aims to help couples in difficulties, providing counselling and support whilst promoting marriage.

Burkina Faso has no laws against same-sex activity.

Marriage, according to the country’s constitution, is defined solely as between a man and a woman.

LGBT people face significant discrimination as well as traditional and religious hostility.

The U.S. Department of State’s 2011 Human Rights Report on Burkina Faso found that: ‘Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remained a problem.

‘Religious and traditional beliefs do not accept homosexuality and LGBT persons were reportedly occasional victims of verbal and physical abuse.

‘There were no reports that the government responded to societal violence and discrimination against such persons.

‘LGBT organizations had no legal presence in the country but existed unofficially. There were no reports of government or societal violence against such organizations’.