A priest in Paraiba, Brazil – Fr. Luiz Couto – has been suspended by a Catholic Archbishop for saying the following two statements:
“I defend the use of the condom as a matter of public health.”
and…
“We must struggle day by day against prejudice and intolerance.” (It was in regard to a proposed law in Brazil that would address discrimination and homophobia toward LGBT people.)
This is almost surreal. In the same month, a bishop who once denied the Holocaust gets reinstated into the Catholic Church, while a priest advocating responsible public health policies and basic anti-discrimination beliefs (that whole “love your neighbor” thing) gets suspended.
To add even more salt, the Archbishop of Paraiba, Aldo Pagotto, said that Fr. Cuoto’s comments on homosexuality – you know, the whole “let’s stop treating gay people with prejudice” thing – were “intolerable.”
What’s really intolerable is a Church that rewards Holocaust deniers and bishops who blame hurricanes on gays and lesbians, while isolating and condemning religious leaders who speak out against discrimination and who advocate for common sense public health practices.

Tom in Long Beach