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| Vitus Huonder |
Vitus Huonder, the controversial Catholic bishop of Chur in eastern Switzerland, has once again attracted criticism for quoting homophobic Bible passages and denouncing non-traditional family models.
At the “Joy in Faith” forum in the German city of Fulda, he quoted a passage from the Bible which said homosexuals should be punished by death.
An LGBT rights group in Switzerland is looking into possible hate speech charges against the Catholic Bishop.
Hounder, while speaking at the "Joy In Faith" forum, may have broken the law when he said that the Bible calls for the execution of gay people.
Swiss Info reports:
In his 50-minute address on Friday, titled “Marriage – a gift, sacrament and order”, Huonder quoted various passages backing up his views. He also slammed gender theory, divorce, sex education and gay marriage.
Regarding homosexuality, the 73-year-old bishop quoted two verses from the book of 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.”
In response to applause, he continued: “Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church’s position on homosexuality”.
In his opinion, the passages also had implications for the definition of marriage and the family. “There is no diversity when it comes to marriage and family models, although a book has just come out in my bishopric called ‘Family Diversity’,” he said.
“Even speaking of family diversity is an attack on the Creator.”
Pink Cross, the Swiss LGBT group that's seeking to have Hounder charged, reminded the world what this kind of religious hate speech inflames. "It was in the name of these same Bible passages that
a Jewish extremist stabbed six people.”
This is far from the first controversy that Huonder has found himself embroiled in since being appointed bishop of Chur, the capital of canton Graubünden, in 2007.
His fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible has resulted in his opposing issues including women priests and sex education. He believes parents should have the right to have their children exempted from sex education classes in school and that divine law comes before human rights.
Earlier this year Huonder called for a Swiss priest who had blessed a lesbian couple to be sacked. The priest kept his job after apologising to Huonder for causing him any “inconvenience” and promising not to bless any more gay couples.
