SWITZERLAND: Gay Group Appeals After Hate Speech Charges Dropped Against Catholic Bishop

Back in August, Swiss Bishop Vitus Huonder declared that the bible “unambiguously” calls for homosexuals to be executed. Huonder later apologized, saying that he’d been misunderstood, but Pink Cross, a national federation of LGBT rights groups, had already sued under Switzerland’s recently approved hate speech law. On Friday their suit was dismissed and Pink Cross has now filed an appeal. Via Swiss Info:

In a statement released on Monday, Pink Cross, the umbrella association for Swiss gay groups, confirmed that it had appealed to the Graubünden cantonal court against a decision on October 9 to close the three complaints filed against Huonder. The cantonal prosecutor said that the necessary conditions had not been met for the cases to go before a court or for a possible sentence. The gay rights association and two individuals had filed official complaints to the Graubünden prosecutor in eastern Switzerland on August 10, accusing the 73-year-old Swiss bishop of “inciting people to crime or violence” with his remarks made at a religious forum in Germany on August 2. Some members of the Catholic Church have distanced themselves from Huonder, with Markus Büchel, the bishop of St Gallen, saying people should not be reduced to their sexuality. Reacting to the controversy, the Swiss Bishops’ Conference released a statement in early September saying, “The Church is open to all”.

The charges against Huonder were trumpeted by US anti-LGBT groups as evidence of “gay intolerance.”