A bishop has been blasted online by thousands, including Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, after he advised Catholics not to attend LGBTQ events.
Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted: “A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ “Pride Month” events held in June.
“They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.”
The tweet instantly went viral, with the bishop receiving negative feedback that also struck a chord with Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.
Reacting to the bishop’s tweet, Mr Flanagan said: “So dispiriting but alas not surprising.
“Complete absence of tolerance, understanding & compassion. So sad and disappointing.”
Thousands of events and parades will take place across June for LGBTQ Pride Month.
Pride Month is particularly significant this year because it marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Manhattan, which fueled the gay and soon LGBTQ rights movement.
The Bishop of Providence in Rhode Island, US, angered LGBTQ campaigners with his homophobic tweet.
In a statement to The Providence Journal, Joe Lazzerini, president of Rhode Island Pride said: “Our organisation respectfully calls on Bishop Tobin to do some self-reflection, as the majority of Catholic Rhode Islanders in this state reject the idea that to be Catholic is to be complicit to intolerance, bigotry, and fear.”
Twitter user Louisa said: “The Catholic Church has a hell of a lot of nerve talking about what’s harmful to children, buddy.”
Actor Stephen Fry was stunned by the Bishop’s words. He tweeted: “Wow, quite simply wow.”
The public were particularly critical of Mr Tobin’s comments in light of a scathing report in the US which said the Catholic Church covered up decades of sexual abuse of some 1,000 victims.
More than 300 priests were implicated in Pennsylvania, where Mr Tobin was formerly posted.
He acknowledged a year ago that he “became aware of incidents of sexual abuse” in Pittsburgh.
However, he went on to tell a newspaper that his responsibilities did not include “clergy misconduct.”
