You can really feel the remorse from the Catholic Church of Malta after one of its priests said being gay is worse than being “possessed.”
Father David Muscat made the comparison in a Facebook post. His comments drew immediate backlash in the European island nation.
The archdiocese of Malta put out a statement announcing they’d issued Muscat a formal warning, and instructed him to stop disparaging the LGBTQ community.
In a televised homily, Archbishop Charles Scicluna apologized in the name of the Church.
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“I want to apologize on behalf of the Church to all those who were hurt by these harsh words, and their mothers and fathers who also feel betrayed by the church they love,” the archbishop said.
Muscat, for his part, has not apologized. His comments were removed after numerous complaints were filed with Facebook.
Local activists, including Malta’s Inclusivity Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli, are calling on police to take action against Muscat for inciting hate speech.
In the past, Muscat has also expressed anti-migrant rhetoric, and praised convicted Nazi sympathizer Normal Lowell. Muscat said Lowell had “sowed a seed that will bear fruit in the future.”
If Muscat was able to maintain his position in the church after that, we can’t imagine his homophobia will cause him much trouble.
rangerwilcox
worse than being “possessed” is the church lying and inciting hate.
drmiller
Okay, seriously, we need to stop giving these idiots attention. The man believes being “possessed” is real; it’s not. That isn’t a thing. That doesn’t exist. And we let idiots like this offend us? We should all be laughing at him, but instead, we are “hurt” by his comments. What a joke. Anyone who genuinely believes in religion has instantly lost credibility on this topic, and shouldn’t be taken seriously when they make comments like these. WHO CARES.
Leo
EXACTLY
revjimbrooking
Begs the question……How many priests are possessed?
CraigBoden
I think the real question is…How many Catholic priests are repressed?
A conservative estimate from a reliable source (former Monsignor who lived in the Vatican for five years and also travelled the world extensively as a Papal diplomat) was that at least 50% of Catholic clergy are gay, including the former pope.
Jim
OMG a priest saying former pope Benedict is worse than being possessed!!!
Interesting
Brian
The logic here is that being gay (a thing that is real) is worse than being possessed (an imaginary thing that he made up). It’s like saying that gay people are worse than unicorns and gnomes. It’s nonsense. He’s just a very, very stupid man.
Mr. Stadnick
The church is terrorist organization and has been. They have tortured and killed with “god” on their side.
Jaquelope
Just because they claim that God is on their side does not make them right.
Fahd
I’m actually impressed that his superiors apologized in the name of the Church. This is progress and shows that the Maltese catholic church is committed to the values of the European Union.
One rogue priest saying BS, like any individual, can’t be completely controlled, especially if he doesn’t care how lousy his working conditions wind up being.
There are bigger fish to fry.
James
Bigger fish to fry…….. you mean the catholic church bigots are not worth fighting against.
Oh please. You must be a catholic.
Fahd
@James
Yes, hence the name Fahd.
Westnd
Missing a large bit of the context here.
He wasn’t simply saying that being gay is worse than being possessed. A woman was raped and murdered last weekend, and the person who did it is mentally ill, believing he is possessed by demons and doing god’s work. Muscat was trying to make out the suspect was gay (because there was a picture of him online in a t-shirt with bright colours), and that being gay somehow was more relevant to what he did than his claims to be possessed.
Jaquelope
Excuse me? He must be very mentally ill if he believes that he’s possessed by demons *and* doing God’s will. Demons are the antithesis of doing God’s will. He might well be possessed, but he certainly isn’t doing God’s will. Maybe the will of the demons’ god, but not the Creator Father’s.
WSnyder
The ‘virginal’ Pope, whose church won’t allow Priests to marry, who won’t allow women to be Priests, lectures people about pets vs. kids. This is the same church that opposes Gay Marriage, Gay adoption, allowing Gay Parents to raise children [fearing their ‘corruption’]. I only listen to what the church says to know what they’re saying and thinking, but I’m long past ‘listening’ to them.
CNY1983
he should really be more specific of what he thinks, before he says it.
cuteguy
Being a recovering Catholic myself, I appreciate this homophobe’s honesty. Bc the majority of the catholic cult’s priests and cult leaders think the same way, they just hide behind a corporate response to save face. I love it how they stated in their response about the mothers and fathers who “love” the church. It’s like saying a brainwashed victim can love their captor
Cozmo2
I’m not mad at what this priest said. But take a look at where your at your in pedo city. And he’s probably a pedo priest too. It’s always the people who talk all this shit and they get caught doing something with their pants down.
gaym50ish
The church they love? Is he talking about the same church that won’t let women lead, that condemns birth control, that expects dysfunctional couples to remain married for life, that thinks gays are “intrinsically evil,” that requires its leaders to be celibate, that shields abusive priests and makes 13-year-olds confess that they masturbate? Is that the church they love?