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Tasmania’s LGBTI community has been called on to respond to statements by the Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, the Most Reverend Adrian Doyle, excusing the Pope’s pre-Christmas condemnation of ‘homosexual behaviour’.
 In a December address to the Vatican's governing body, the Curia, Pope Benedict was reported as saying that saving the world from homosexual behaviour was as important as saving the world's rainforests.
His comments were met with anger and condemnation from the international LGBT community.
Springing to the Pope’s defence, Archbishop Doyle claimed Pope Benedict had been misquoted and that his speech made “no reference or gives any condemnation to the gay and lesbian community”.
Julian Punch, the state coordinator of the Coming Out Proud program, said that a coordinated response was required from gay and lesbian organisations and individuals in order to minimise the impact of Pope Benedict’s words.
“The Pope’s call to arms to ‘save’ the world from homosexual behaviour will have a doctrinal and dogmatic [influence] in Catholic educational, health and social institutions and their information, instruction and counselling [of] vulnerable gay & lesbian students and clients,” Punch said.
“We need some assurance that state and federal funding to these organisations will not be used to impose the Pope’s damaging view of sexuality in Catholic institutions and give false courage to those elements in society willing to pursue vilification and violence against gays.”
Punch pointed to the recent suicide of his nephew Joel, a gay Catholic, as indicative of the impact homophobia can have on young people, and urged for dialogue between the LGBT community and Tasmania’s religious bodies.
“The Coming Out Proud Program [would be] pleased to invest in this dialogue, and is interested to hear a compassionate and informed response from church leaders,” Punch concluded.
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