The 300,000-strong The Presbyterian Church in Ireland will release a report later this year in which they tacitly affirm the potential power conversion therapy. The Social Issues and Resources Panel announces:

It is sufficiently documented that there are those who have moved from a position of having same sex attractions to being heterosexual...

This is entirely possible for some whose sexual identity has been part and parcel of a confused personal identity.

Some may claim that such people were never truly homosexual or lesbian in the first place. That may be so and it is important to note that for many, even should they wish to undergo counseling their same sex attractions may not change...

Though the panel also suggests the creation of a homo help line, it does not explicitly recognize the existence of gay people...

Rather, the panel refers to gays as "people with same-sex desires," thus maintaining the church's stance that sexuality "does not define" a person's identity. While that's certainly the case, in refusing to label gays "gay," the church sticks homosexuality right up there with other life struggles, such as adultery.

Mag Lochlainn, President of the Irish Gay and Lesbian Rights Association reacted to the report:

I would urge all gay people to show respect and understanding for Presbyterians. It is not their fault that they are so often bitter homophobes... LGBT people should stretch out the hand of friendship to those in our society still afflicted by religion, and help them to see the light.

Which light? The light that says gay people aren't inhuman hellish monsters? That would be nice. Lochlainn's comments, however, also seem to be shredding the significance of organized religion, which may only fuel Bible-thumper's anti-gay arguments.

Church report into homophobia advocates "ex-gay" counselling [Pink News UK]