Religious leaders in Liberia have blamed an outbreak of the Ebola virus on “homosexualism.”

According to The Washington Post, the pandemic has claimed the lives of 255 people in the West African nation of Liberia.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Tuesday called for three days of prayer and fasting.

“Relying on His divine guidance for our survival as a nation,” Sirleaf said, “I call on all Liberians to observe three days of national fast and prayer to seek God's face to have mercy on us and forgive our sins and heal our land, Liberia, as we continue to fight against the deadly Ebola virus.”

The Liberian Council of Churches also couched the outbreak in Biblical terms, blaming Ebola on “immoral acts” such as “homosexualism.”

“God is angry with Liberia. Ebola is a plague. Liberians have to pray and seek God's forgiveness over the corruption and immoral acts (such as homosexualism, etc.) that continue to penetrate our society. As Christians we must repent and seek God's forgiveness,” the council said in a statement.

Meanwhile in the United States, Christian conservative Rick Wiles trumpeted a similar sentiment.

Ebola, which he also called a plague, “may be the great attitude adjustment that I believe is coming. Ebola could solve America's problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography and abortion.”