The religious assured that he did not want to promote discrimination.
The Spanish bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, apologized this Friday for his statements about homosexuality, which he described as a “mortal sin” in a recent interview, and admitted that he was not correct.
In a statement, Bernardo Álvarez apologizes “to those who may have offended (…), especially LGTBI people, to whom I express my respect and consideration”, and regrets “having caused pain”.
In that interview on the regional television of the Canary Islands (Atlantic), the prelate said that “for something to be a mortal sin, the person must be aware that it is a sin, that they do it freely and that they are not conditioned by any”.
He added, in reference to homosexuality: “Even though they know it’s wrong, they do it, without being conditioned by anything. It’s like the person who drinks and when he drinks he does any nonsense. Of course, what he has to do is not drink “.
The bishop assured today that he did not want to encourage discrimination or compare homosexuality with alcoholism “or with any other reality.”
Bernardo Álvarez’s words caused an enormous social and political uproar; the CCOO union asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the bishop because “they can be classified as a hate crime.”
Meanwhile, the LGTBI Diversas association launched an online campaign for the bishop to be removed, with more than 4,440 signatures in 24 hours. (I)
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