Spanish bishop says new bill persecutes same-sex-attracted Catholics who want to live chastely

Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante, Spain, denounced the “persecution” of Catholics with homosexual inclinations who seek help to live chastely, following the lower house’s passage of a reform to the penal code in Spain that bans so-called "conversion therapies.” During his program “Sexto Continente” (“Sixth Continent”) on Radio María Spain, the bishop commented on the Congress of Deputies' passage of the amendment that penalizes activities grouped under that term, a term the prelate also rejects. “So-called conversion therapy doesn’t exist,” he stated, asserting that it’s “an ideological construct of an anti-Christian lobby in an attempt to prevent pastoral accompaniment for individuals with homosexual inclinations who in conscience want to live chastely and are seeking help.” The legislative proposal, which has yet to be sent to the Senate, stipulates that programs providing support to those with homosexual inclinations who wish to live in chastity and in accordance with the Catholic faith be classified as a criminal offense under Title VII, which deals with “torture and other crimes against moral integrity.” The amended penal code would provide for prison sentences ranging from six months to two years and fines imposed for a period of eight to 24 months for anyone who “applies or carries out upon a person, even with their consent or that of their legal representative, acts, methods, programs, techniques, or procedures of aversion or conversion whether psychological, physical, pharmacological, or of any other nature intended to modify, suppress, eliminate, or deny their sexual orientation, sexual identity, or gender expression, resulting in harm to their bodily integrity or physical or mental health, or seriously impairing their moral integrity.” Additionally, a person conducting the prohibited activities could be disqualified from practicing his or her profession or trade for up to five years. ‘It’s religious persecution’ Munilla argued that the result of this addition to the penal code is “that a homosexual cannot be Catholic, or if he is Catholic, he must be a Catholic who dissents from the teachings of the Church.” “He has to be a dissident Catholic. He is persecuted so that he cannot be a faithful Catholic. Because, if he wants to live chastely and asks for help to live chastely, he is persecuted. We’re crazy,” he emphasized. "Deep down it’s religious persecution," he asserted, and "an obvious demonstration that they don’t believe in the freedom they boast about so much.” “We must obey God rather than men,” he added. “We will not stop accompanying homosexual persons who seek the Church’s accompaniment in order to live chastely.” Infiltration of the Church by the LGBT lobby Munilla said his greatest concern is that “within the Church we have unity and communion around faith and morals.” “The LGBT lobby has infiltrated many sectors of the Church, and that is what should concern us,” he said. “The worst thing is that within the Church there are many areas where we are afraid, we dodge the issue or even explicitly deny the Catholic faith with respect to the experience of sexuality,” he continued. This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.