The Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, has apologized this Friday for his statements about homosexuality, which he described as a “mortal sin” in a recent interview with Canarian Television, and has admitted that he was not “right”.
More than four thousand people sign to demand the dismissal of the Bishop of Tenerife
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In a statement, Bernardo Álvarez apologizes “to those who have been able to offend with my words, especially LGTBI people, to whom I express my respect and consideration.”
“I have to admit that I was not successful in answering some questions that require a more detailed reflection and explanation”, the bishop of the Diocese of Nivariense abounds, and adds: “I did not want to promote discrimination, nor compare homosexuality with alcoholism or with any other reality.
“I am sorry to have induced confusion and caused pain,” says Álvarez, who as bishop, indicates, reiterates his “adherence to the teachings of the Church” and his “will to transmit them faithfully.”
Likewise, it expresses its communion with Pope Francis and his magisterium.
The words of Bernardo Álvarez have caused a huge stir and generated deep rejection in society and even in the political class, starting with the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, who described them as “unacceptable”.
The CCOO union has asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the bishop of Tenerife for his statements about homosexuality because it considers that “they can be classified as a hate crime.”
Meanwhile, the LGTBI Diversas association has launched an internet campaign calling for the dismissal of the bishop in which it has collected more than 4,440 signatures in 24 hours.
This LGTBI association recalls that in 2007 the Bishop of Tenerife “justified” the sexual abuse of minors by indicating that “there are children who provoke”, in addition to pointing out that “homosexuality harms people and society”.
