Daniel Avila apologised before resigning A policy adviser to the American Catholic bishops' anti-gay-marriage group has resigned, after he wrote a column blaming Satan for the existence of same-sex attraction. Daniel Avila wrote in the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston last month that "the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil." The column goes on to claim that when "natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God". The Boston Pilot retracted the column and issued an apology last week, saying it "failed to recognise the theological error in the column before publication." Avila also apologised, saying "The teaching of Sacred Scripture and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church make it clear that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and have inviolable dignity." He also apologised. DignityUSA, a gay Catholic activist group, expressed outrage at the piece saying the archdiocese "have inflicted tremendous damage on the souls and psyches" of gay people.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 5th November 2011 - 6:00pm