Investigation into the ex-Bishop of Castelló’s courses to “cure homosexuality”

The Bishopric of Alcalá maintains a paragraph on it’s website referring to homosexuality, “many cases can be solved with an appropriate therapy”

The Community of Madrid will investigate the courses being offered by a child guidance centre linked to the Bishopric of Alcalá, also owned by the ex-bishop of Castello, Juan Antonio Reig Pla, where a “cure” for homosexuality is being offered. The Madrid authorities have said they will apply the corresponding sanctioned if appropriate.  In a press conference after a regional Council of Government, the regional vice president, Pedro Rollán, said that during this meeting the Counselor for Social Policies and Family, Lola Moreno informed him that the Executive Board had received two official complaints  that morning, one from the Arcopoli citizen’s platform and another from Podemos member Eduardo Rubino.

“Regardless of whether this is a particular clinic or another, logically what has to be done is to conduct an investigation and if, as a result it is determined that there has been some type of non-compliance of the LGBT legislation then a sanction will be applied”. This economic sanction could be between 20,000 euros and 45,000 euros.

Rollán insisted that it be investigated, verified and if it is determined by independent technicians that there has been any type of activity that is outside the law, it will be sanctioned and a case file will be opened.

The Bishopric of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) denies that it offers courses to cure homosexuality, but emphasized that it would not renounce “welcoming and accompanying people who freely request it”.

The Bishopric referred to information published by the “eldiario.es” about “illegal and clandestine courses to ‘cure’ homosexuality” that the diocese of Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Plà offered. He was bishop of Castelló until 2005.

This digital journal, published a report by a journalist who presented himself on March 21, as “a young person wanting to change his orientation,” and was offered therapy sessions “to ‘cure’ homosexuality” in the Family Guidance Centre Regina Familiae, belonging to the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares.

According to the Bishopric of the town of Madrid, this is “false news” and “a theatre built ‘ad hoc’, in which a journalist, posing as a young person who wants to change its orientation, asked for help and guidance with the intention of provoking a manipulated conversation regarding gender ideology and its protecting legislation”.

The Diocese of Reig Plà has also highlighted “the respect and love due to all persons”, underlining that it “does not renounce welcoming and accompanying people who freely request guidance regarding sexual orientation”. They indicated that this guidance is “integral, pastoral and spiritual and always based on faith and reason, with love and truth in the light of the word of God and the magisterium of the Catholic Church”.

On the website of the Bishopric of Alcalá there is a section called ‘homosexuality and hope’, which proposes that the issue of homosexuality indicates that people with sexual attraction to people of the same sex “must be sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties”.

The website of the Bishopric of Alcalá continues. “The Catholic Church teaches in her Magisterium that it is necessary to distinguish between people who feel homosexual inclinations, the homosexual inclination itself (objectively disordered) and homosexual acts (intrinsically disordered)”. “Many cases, especially if the practice of homosexual acts is not deeply rooted, can be resolved positively with appropriate therapy,” adds the Bishopric.

The platform “Somos Alcalá” have also informed the prosecutors office about these courses that are taught in the Bishopric of Alcalá de Henares, where the owner and ex-Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla is well known for his apocalyptic and homophobic views.

“We will continue to denounce the attitudes and behaviour of the Bishop of Alcalá de Henares, Juan Antonio Reig Pla, who repeatedly launches discriminatory messages and believes that sexual identities are diseases when they do not fit in with the Doctrine of the Catholic Church. The Prosecutor’s Office and the Community of Madrid have the duty to investigate in order to protect society but especially children that may be forced to attend these courses”, said the spokesman of the formation, Suso Abad.

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