Catholic Cardinal No Place in Heaven for Gay

Homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven," Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan said Wednesday, reports Italian news agency Ansa.

Cardinal Barragan, of Mexico, declared that being gay is an "insult to God," but he added that discrimination against gays and transsexuals should not be condoned.

Barragan, who served as the president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, also said being gay is something learned.

"People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence," the cardinal said. "It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the human body is an insult to God."

In April, Barragan retired from his post on the pope's council, but he maintains positions on various Catholic Church bodies.