Diocese: El Paso Antigay Ads Don't Reflect Our Views

The Catholic diocese of El Paso, Texas, is distancing itself from a recent four-part advertisement titled “True Pastoral Care for Homosexuals” in the El Paso Times.

According to the newspaper, diocesan officials maintain that the ads are the personal views and opinions of the Reverend Michael Rodriguez of San Juan Bautista Catholic Church, who authored them (an unidentified couple in Plano, Texas, reportedly paid for the ads to be published).

In the ads Rodriguez asserts that compassion is needed for gays and lesbians, then goes on to write multiple screeds about the wickedness of gay people.

"Engaging in depraved and unnatural sexual acts will lead directly to the ruin of both the homosexual's body and soul," Rodriguez wrote. "Our very anatomy cries out against the lie that homosexual acts are 'ok.'"

"I decided to write these articles primarily because it's my duty as a Catholic priest to teach the truth when it comes to faith and morals," Rodriguez wrote to the El Paso Times. "My mission is to labor for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. That's why I wrote the articles. The government has no right to undermine or redefine the institution of marriage. This is beyond the scope of their competence."

Read the El Paso Times story here.