Daniel Avila (whom you may remember from one of Wayne’s reports from the Values Voter Summit) is the “Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family” to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage — he describes himself as “the bishops’ marriage guy.” In a recent article for the Boston Pilot, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, he discussed a theory (which he falsely labeled as “the most widely accepted scientific hypothesis”) that homosexuality is caused by “random imbalances in maternal hormone levels.” And so Mr. Avila concludes:
…the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil. Any time natural disasters occur, we as people of faith look back to Scripture’s account of those angels who rebelled and fell from grace. In their anger against God, these malcontents prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. They continue to do all they can to mar, distort and destroy God’s handiwork.
Therefore, whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.
Their marriage policy advisor says that homosexuality comes from Satan, but don’t you dare call them bigots!
What a disgusting slap in the face to LGBT Catholics and Catholic parents — in particular, mothers — of LGBT children. No wonder so many are leaving that church.
h/t: Bilerico’s Michael Hamar and Right Wing Watch’s Peter Montgomery.
Avila at Value Voters Summit
Tags: Bigotry, bishops, Boston, Catholic, Daniel Avila, homophobia, John Becker, religion-based bigotry, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, wingnuttery18 Comments »
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“…provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil.” WTF? What credible basis for a myth? Mr. Avila, you’re going to have to do better than that. If this is the RCC’s “go to guy” for marriage, they have completely lost the battle. No one believes in that garbage any longer.
Comment by Mykelb — November 1, 2011 @ 11:51 am
Ah, the pedophile segway. Interesting.
Comment by iDavid — November 1, 2011 @ 12:50 pm
I still maintain that the most vocal opponents in the Hierarchy are the Bishops/Archbishops who want to be to Cardinal and they see fighting marriage equality as the best way to get a promotion from their boss in Rome.
However, there is a very perceptive article on Huffingtonpost today regarding the Catholic Church’s commitment to stopping marriage equality that offers another reason:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-keppler/the-desperate-catholic-cl_b_1027048.html?ref=gay-voices
This is very good reading and I highly recommend it.
Comment by Nick K. — November 1, 2011 @ 1:03 pm
Let’s use “science” selectively to justify our completely unscientific and immoral myth.
Comment by Reese M — November 1, 2011 @ 1:09 pm
Isn’t is really obvious that the religiously oriented are pathetically hung up on the mythical and magical ways of dealing with reality? Devils and angels and holy conflicts that cause this and that malady or tragedy are really the stuff of fairy tales and children’s stories. Heaven forbid that one should just accept the fact that each human being is an entity unto himself and individual, with all the unique characteristics of his own nature. Isn’t this what the United States of America is supposed to stand for and defend? Unfortunately, this directly conflicts with the religiously demented and their need to make all things as holy and righteous as they themselves are. After all, with the Bible as your guide, what else can you do?
Comment by Gianni — November 1, 2011 @ 1:16 pm
Where did you see a mention of pedophilia, iDavid? Certainly not in my article.
Comment by John M. Becker — November 1, 2011 @ 1:54 pm
Nick, thanks for posting Erica Keppler’s Huffington Post article. It was indeed very well-written, but the idea that a majority of Catholic priests are gay is hardly a revelatory one. As a former Catholic whose family worked (and still works) very deeply within the Catholic Church, I’ve been saying this for a long, long time, as have many others.
Comment by John M. Becker — November 1, 2011 @ 1:57 pm
….we as people of faith…. I as ‘a person of faith’ find his ideas, theories and explanations to be utter Bullshit, and the worst kind of lazy, literalistic, puerile ‘theology’. As my (Episcopal) priest once said about guys like this, “they sound like 6th graders who just graduated from a really bad Confirmation class”.
Comment by Gary (NJ) — November 1, 2011 @ 2:47 pm
The roman church is politically far more powerful than than the mormon one and has, after 33 years of Wojtyla and Ratzinger, all traces of the Vatican II “spring” are fading fast. It has become a theological platform for people like the Kochs, Scalia, Gingrich, Randall Terry, Santorum, Buchanan, Tom Monaghan and countless other neocon subversives to launch their war on women, working class people and of course GLBTs among others. The fact that homosexual men are at the crux of maintaining their misogynistic hegemony in the roman church infuriates me.
Comment by Paul Douglas — November 1, 2011 @ 3:01 pm
I’m getting really tired of this.
Comment by Peter Hargmier — November 1, 2011 @ 3:22 pm
He’s also calling homosexuality a “natural disaster”.
Comment by Bill S — November 1, 2011 @ 4:10 pm
John – I agree with you that argument that the majority of Catholic priests are gay is not revelatory. Rumor, anecdotal stories, and social science scholarship in the area all pretty much confirm that. However, what I found revelatory in Ms. Keppler’s article is how she connects the Hierarchy’s pathological opposition to marriage equality and the priest shortage. If one reduces the options for Catholic gay men to live a life outside the clergy, then one increases the chances that they will enter the priesthood. I still think it has more to do with bishops getting promotions, but Ms. Keppler’s analysis does offer some good insight into this issue.
Comment by Nick K. — November 2, 2011 @ 10:44 am
A pedophile segway? I always thought strangers giving out candy used a van.
Comment by Edward Harper — November 2, 2011 @ 11:06 am
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