Catholic Bishop Under Fire After Stating ‘Church’s Position’ Is Gays ‘Shall Surely Be Put To Death’

A Catholic Bishop quoted Leviticus and told his audience that it is the Church’s position on homosexuality.

Speaking for nearly an hour on Friday at the Joy in Faith forum in Germany, Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder attacked homosexuality, same-sex marriage, gender theory, divorce, and sex education. Now he is under fire from a Swiss LGBT organization which is calling his comments “homophobic incitement” and “hate speech,” an act not protected as it is the U.S.

The controversial 73-year old bishop quoted two passages from Leviticus, including Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

“Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality,” Huonder claimed.

His comments received applause from the audience of about 1000 people, according to swissinfo.ch, the national news organization of Switzerland, similar to the BBC. 

Bishop Huonder, who is the Bishop of Chur in Eastern Switzerland, also used the passages to attack same-sex marriage.

“There is no diversity when it comes to marriage and family models,” he said. “Even speaking of family diversity is an attack on the Creator.”

Pink Cross, an LGBT organization is Switzerland, “said it was looking into how such hate speech could be prosecuted, pointing out that representatives of the church do not live in a legal vacuum,” Swissinfo.ch noted. 

Pink Cross said it “demands a public apology” and asked Huonder’s congregation “not to tolerate incitement to hatred and death.”

Huonder today released a statement saying he regretted his comments were misunderstood and misinterpreted as holding contempt for gay people.

“That wasn’t my intention,” the bishop claimed.

 

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