The Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, has appeared this Wednesday before the Prosecutor’s Office of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife for his statements in which he compared homosexuality with alcohol, in case they could be susceptible to a hate crime.
Bernardo Álvarez did not want to make any statements to the media at the entrance or exit of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Palace of Justice, where he went shortly before 10 a.m. with a visibly serious face.
The bishop, who appeared before the Prosecutor’s Office for just over an hour, described homosexuality as a “mortal sin” in a recent interview with Canarian Television. For this reason, the Prosecutor’s Office has opened informative proceedings to determine if Álvarez’s words constitute a hate crime.
The CCOO union 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 launched an internet campaign calling for the dismissal of the bishop. In this regard, Álvarez sent a press release in which he apologized and admitted that he was not “right.”
The bishop apologized “to those who may have offended with my words, especially LGBTI people, to whom I express my respect and consideration.”
