SWITZERLAND: Catholic Bishop Issues Formal Apology For Endorsing Death Penalty For Homosexuality

Early this month Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder gave a speech in which he declared that Catholic doctrine “unambiguously” supports biblical passages which call for executing homosexuals. Several days later a Swiss LGBT rights group filed for criminal hate speech charges against him. Huonder has now issued a formal written apology. The Local reports:

In a three-page letter sent to 800 of his colleagues, including priests and employees, on Wednesday night, Huonder apologized “to everyone who felt injured by my speech, in particular those of homosexual persuasion”, reported Swiss news agency ATS on Thursday. The 73-year-old said it was a “mistake” to write his speech purely “on a theological and academic level”. He also regretted writing it during the summer holidays when there was no one around to read it over for him, reported ATS. “My colleagues would have drawn my attention to the danger,” he said. On Monday Swiss Gay Federation Pink Cross filed a criminal complaint against the bishop for his comments, saying that he was indirectly “inciting people to crimes” with his remarks. A private individual from St Gallen has also filed a complaint.

If found guilty, Huonder faces up to three years in prison.

RELATED: Sanctions against hate speech made on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity were approved by Switzerland’s national legislature in March 2015.