– Advertisement –

Florida Politician Says He Was “Warned” at the Vatican For Holding Hands With His Gay Lover

by | Dec 30, 2019 | Blog, LGBTQ Issues, News, Politics, Social-Issues, The Church, World

✪ Read this article ad-free and leave comments here on Substack

Carlos Guillermo Smith is a Democratic (surprise!) member of the Florida House of Representatives who was elected in 2016. Smith became the first openly gay Latino to serve in the Florida state legislature. 

According to a recent Facebook post, Smith and his gay lover were pulled over by a Vatican security guard for holding hands and warned that they could be fined for doing so.

“We meant no disrespect,” Smith writes, “but our experience must be shared. While visiting St. Peter’s square, Jerick and I were pulled aside and warned by the Vatican that we could be FINED or worse for holding hands and violating the penal code. I was shocked, but not surprised.”

It’s no secret the Catholic Church has consistently opposed the rights of LGBTQ people, imposed conversion therapy on vulnerable youth and done substantial harm trying to keep us in the shadows.

This was a powerful reminder that there are places in the world where LGBTQ people are punished simply for existing. Even in the US, life can be dangerous, esp. for black trans women who face increasing hate violence and whose average life expectancy is 30-35 in the Americas.

Jerick and I were raised Catholic and the church taught us to be ashamed of who we are. We are NOT ashamed— we are PROUD. But the painful reality of how organized religion continues to poison society’s attitudes against LGBTQ people is shameful and must change.

Thanks to countless interfaith leaders and worshipers committed to equality, things ARE changing. We’re grateful for their unconditional love. Working alongside people of faith, who are both LGBTQ and allies, is how we can conquer hate together.

The Vatican which is home to the Roman Catholic religion has been extremely volatile on its stance on homosexuality. While in some ways appearing to cave as they recently reinstated an openly gay non-celibate priest to the priesthood and various high-ranking Catholic groups deemed homosexuality as a “normal” expression of sexuality, it’s interesting to note that — despite the Vatican’s mass homosexual scandal — they decided to stand firm this time.

Join Us and Get These Perks:

✅ No Ads in Articles
✅ Access to Comments and Discussions
✅ Community Chats
✅ Full Article and Podcast Archive
✅ The Joy of Supporting Our Work 😉



If this is even true, (Democrats lie, it’s what they do) it’s almost laughable as it is absurd. The inconsistency of the various liberal religious groups colliding with the ever-shifting doctrinal dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church can only leave one wondering — when will Jesus return? Hopefully soon.

Three Ways to Support DISNTR


The Dissenter is primarily supported by its readers. The best way to support us is to subscribe to our members-only Substack site where you will receive all of our content ad-free, plus you will get member-only exclusive content.

Support us with a monthly donation on Patreon

Support us with membership to our ad-free Substack

Make one-time or monthly donation on Donorbox


👕 Or make a purchase from our online store. 👕
Make a Dogecoin Donation

- Advertisement -

Latest

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

Over Easter—of all times—spiritual charlatan, Paula White, stood in front of cameras and compared Donald Trump to Christ. Not subtly. Not loosely. Directly. She took the betrayal, the suffering, the cost, the language that belongs to the cross alone—and laid it at the...

That Moment When Paula “Jezebel” White Compared Trump to Christ

That Moment When Paula “Jezebel” White Compared Trump to Christ

I thought I had heard it all. I really did. Paula White has spent years building a reputation as one of the most brazen purveyors of prosperity nonsense in modern evangelicalism—name it, claim it, decree it, declare it, speak it into existence. The whole tired script....

How the Church Failed at Dismantling the Transgender Movement

How the Church Failed at Dismantling the Transgender Movement

For years now, the modern transgender movement hasn’t operated like a loose collection of ideas. It’s functioned like a system—predictable, coordinated, and disturbingly efficient. Not chaos. Not confusion. A process. A conveyor belt—the transgender conveyor belt—as...

- Advertisement -

Subscribe

Store

Follow Us

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like…

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

This is What Happens When a Charlatan is Your Spiritual Advisor

Over Easter—of all times—spiritual charlatan, Paula White, stood in front of cameras and compared Donald Trump to Christ. Not subtly. Not loosely. Directly. She took the betrayal, the suffering, the cost, the language that belongs to the cross alone—and laid it at the...

How the Church Failed at Dismantling the Transgender Movement

How the Church Failed at Dismantling the Transgender Movement

For years now, the modern transgender movement hasn’t operated like a loose collection of ideas. It’s functioned like a system—predictable, coordinated, and disturbingly efficient. Not chaos. Not confusion. A process. A conveyor belt—the transgender conveyor belt—as...

In a World Unraveling, God Still Reigns.

In a World Unraveling, God Still Reigns.

I wake up, grab my coffee, thumb the screen—and it’s the same grim parade, again. A man guns down a pregnant woman at a red light—her husband beside her—an unborn child erased in the same breath, and the system shrugs it off under the banner of insanity. Not...

The Modern American Soft “Jesus” is an Idol

The Modern American Soft “Jesus” is an Idol

The modern American imagination is an idol factory, and it has manufactured a version of Jesus that never existed. In this version, Jesus is soft-spoken, endlessly agreeable, and almost allergic to confrontation. He floats through the Gospels like a spiritual...

- Advertisement -

Want to go ad-free with exclusive content? Subscribe today.
Already a subscriber? Click Here

This will close in 0 seconds

Three Ways to Support DISNTR



The Dissenter is primarily supported by its readers. The best way to support us is to subscribe to our members-only Substack site where you will receive all of our content ad-free, plus you will get member-only exclusive content.

 

Support us with a monthly donation on Patreon

Support us with membership to our ad-free Substack

Make one-time or monthly donation on Donorbox


👕 Or make a purchase from our online store. 👕

This will close in 0 seconds