The Prosecutor’s Office of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has initiated investigative proceedings to determine whether the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, committed a hate crime when he declared on public television on the islands (RTVC) that homosexuality was a ” mortal sin” and equated it to alcoholism. This was announced this Tuesday by Cadena SER, which adds that the opening of these proceedings will not necessarily entail a complaint and, therefore, a criminal procedure, but it will allow the prosecutor to order the practice of as many proceedings as are pertinent, including taking statement to Álvarez, to determine whether the facts constitute a crime or not.
The Bishop of Tenerife, again against homosexuality: “It is a mortal sin if it is done freely knowing that it is wrong”
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Bernardo Álvarez apologized after his statements once he received a avalanche of criticismnot only on the islands, but throughout the country, by people from very different fields, from politicians to the world of culture.
This bishop is no stranger to controversy and already in 2008 insinuated, speaking about pederasty, that sometimes there were sexual “provocations” of 13-year-old boys. To justify himself, he later stated that “this sexuality thing is more complex than it seems” and that he would measure his words “when dealing with such sensitive issues”, which he has not done.
On another occasion, 14 years ago, Álvarez said that homosexuality “harms people and society.” He also confessed, assimilating it to sexual assault, that “the person practices homosexuality just as he can practice child abuse.” Days later she clarified the answers that were reflected in the extinct newspaper The opinion, “I had not tried to justify, in any case, the abuse of minors, which is always absolutely reprehensible, morally it is a very serious sin and legally, a crime. In no way, have I compared, nor did I want to compare, nor do I compare homosexuality with child abuse”.
The bishop who slipped into the vaccination protocol
But it is also that this person, in February 2021, skipped the order established for vaccination in the Health protocol.
The bishop had received the first dose when it was not his turn, together with the older priests of the San Juan de Ávila priestly residence, the nuns, those responsible for the center, house staff and the external company that deals with cleaning. Through a press release, the Nivariense Bishopric added that “Álvarez was included in the list sent to the health authorities by keeping his address in that place, specifically in an adjoining apartment, and with whose residents he has frequent contacts and shares some of the services that are provided.” However, the Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, Blas Trujillo, made public, in the Control Commission to explain the vaccination plan against COVID-19, a report that debunked those statements.
