Gay group blames Church for suicides
The Southern Gay Men’s Health Project (SGMHP) said the “constant tirade of homophobic comments” from the Church was having a devastating affect on young gay men.
The group was responding to a letter from the 33 Irish Catholic Bishops entitled Life is for Loving: A Reflection on Suicide.
The letter urges anyone thinking about taking their own life to reconsider.
It also attributes the rise in suicide in Ireland to a weakening of the faith that accompanied the country’s economic growth.
But SGMHP, a Southern Health Board-funded sexual health project for the Cork Kerry region, said clients of theirs had blamed the Church for their suicidal tendencies.
“Homophobia is a cause of suicide. Prejudice and oppression are causes of suicide,” project manager Martin O’Sullivan said yesterday.
“Gay people do not take their own life because they are gay: they do so because of fear of society’s reaction to them.
“While we support the right of the Church to have its own beliefs, we do not support anybody’s right to promote homophobia.”
Mr O’Sullivan said his group is constantly listening to men in great distress, trying to come to terms with their sexuality, who have considered suicide.
“We are aware of many more who have taken their own lives,” he said.
“Recent comments from the Church in Spain on gay partnership rights have further fuelled the homophobic attack by the Church on the lesbian and gay community,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
He also said SGMHP is finding it difficult to deliver education and training courses in secondary schools because of their Catholic/Christian ethos.
The group has written to Ireland’s 33 Catholic bishops offering them training.
In 1997, the Garfolo study found gay men are seven times more likely, and lesbians 2.5 times more likely than heterosexual counterparts, to attempt suicide.
Southern Gay Men’s
Health Project
8 South Main St. Cork
Helpline: (021) 4271087
Mon-Fri, 10am- 6pm
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
