'The View' co-host: Jesus would attend pride parade 'with pride,' kids ‘safer’ at LGBT events than church
The View co-host Sunny Hostin said she believes Jesus Christ would attend the LGBT pride parade “with pride” after a Catholic bishop warned that the festivities were “especially harmful to children” and “contrary to Catholic faith.”
Ahead of “Pride Month,” Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island took to Twitter to remind Christians to avoid partaking in LGBT celebrations.
“A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June,” he wrote. “They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.”
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On "The View" Monday, Hostin slammed Tobin for his comments: “I was on Twitter this weekend and I read this tweet by the Bishop Tobin who is a Catholic bishop. And he comes out, and he says that he wants to remind all Catholics not to support or engage in any pride, participate in any pride parades or anything supporting the LGBTQ community because it’s against Christian values and it is harmful to children."
In response to Tobin, Hostin tweeted that the bishop should be “ashamed” of his comments and asserted that her Catholic children will be attending a Pride event.
"And I tweeted out that my Catholic children will be attending pride events as this Catholic will," Hostin said. " And you know, my faith always taught me what would Jesus do? And I know Jesus would be attending that pride parade, with pride."
Hostin went on to claim she nearly left the Catholic Church because of the sex abuse crisis and the church’s handling of it.
"And I also know that God is love, Jesus is love, love is love," Hostin continued. "For a Catholic bishop to come out and say something like that given the history of pedophilia in the Catholic church, given what the Catholic church has hidden about the abuse of children, some would say that being at a pride parade would be much safer for a child than it has been to be in a Catholic church for many years."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites Scripture to state that homosexual acts are "acts of depravity" and "contrary to the natural law."
"They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved," it states.
It also states that those with homosexual tendencies "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."
Hostin was not the only one to take issue with Tobin’s tweet. The bishop was bombarded with over 90,000 comments on Twitter, some calling on him to resign.
WKYT reports that on Sunday, dozens gathered outside Tobin’s Rhode Island cathedral to protest his comments, holding signs emblazoned with phrases including “not our bishop: resign” and “still fighting for my Catholic right to attend pride in 2019.”
In response, Tobin released a statement expressing regret that his tweet had “turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially in the gay community.” He did not apologize for or retract any of the content of his original statement.
“That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense,” said Tobin, adding that he had received “widespread support” for his tweet.
Tobin clarified that he was not motivated by hatred, but said that as a bishop, “my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues. That is what I have always tried to do — on a variety of issues — and I will continue doing so as contemporary issues arise.”
Catholic League President Bill Donohue also voiced his support for Tobin, pointing out that pride parades are often full of “demonstrations of debauchery” and “disgusting” displays of nudity.
“This year’s PrideFest on June 15 is called ‘Live Your Truth,’” Donahue wrote. “‘Live Your Truth’ is an oxymoron: While there are many opinions, there is only one truth. And it is one that Bishop Tobin accurately enunciated on June 1.”
