Pope Francis appointed Felipe Arizmendi, a cardinal who believes that homosexuality is contagious and is spreading – like a disease. And: He expressed understanding for child molesters within the Catholic Church.

Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel is one of 13 new cardinals appointed by Pope Francis in the Vatican last week. The 80-year-old prelate of the Catholic Church in Mexico has been a  bishop since 1991. His appointment as cardinal is likely to cause shaking of the head in more progressive circles: the clergyman is known for statements on sexuality that seem very conservative and homophobic even for a member of the Catholic Church.

Homosexuality allegedly infects indigenous peoples

According to the Reuters news agency, Arizmendi is known for its progressive views on indigenous and migrant rights and has been working for decades to support indigenous and poor communities in southern Mexico. In this context, Cardinal Arizmendi described gayness as a “contagion” that spread to indigenous communities in South and Central America.

“In the past, this problem of homosexuality did not exist, but today it occurs because of the contagion from urban communities, universities and the media.

He stressed that this shows: Homosexuality is not natural. Otherwise it would be present in all indigenous communities, but this is not the case, Arizmendi said.

He made these statements in 2016 in a Sunday message on the occasion of an initiative to change the constitution signed by the former president of the country, Enrique Peña Nieto. The law was supposed to legalise same-sex marriage on a federal level and to put homosexuals on an equal footing with men in the adoption law – unfortunately, nothing came of it.

The newly elected cardinal also commented directly on the subject of marriage at the time. He emphasised that while it was morally unacceptable for a same-sex couple to live together, people were of course free to do so. But, said Arizmendi:

“Call these unions equivalent weddings, marital coexistence, marital partnership or other, but please do not call them marriage”.

Incidentally, due to his age, Arizmendi is not eligible to participate in a papal election.

Pornos responsible for child abuse in the church

Arizmendi caused particularly great outrage at a meeting of bishops in Mexico City in 2010. The new cardinal blamed television, pornography and the sexual freedom that is widespread in society for the sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church.

Arizmendi’s interpretation follows statements of the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, whose statements in this regard already caused consternation in the American late night show of Bill Maher

If there is pornography in so many media, he said, it is difficult to remain pure and chaste. He expressed understanding for child molesters:

“With so much invasion of eroticism, it is sometimes not easy to remain celibate or to respect children. If there is a general sexual freedom, it is of course more likely that there are cases of pedophilia”.

The appointment of Arizmendi represents a new negative point in Pope Francis’ mixed record for queer rights. In the last few months he has collected quite a few positive points:

In September he told LGBTIQ* parents that homosexuals are also children of God. And in October, in a documentary, he made a statement that shook the Vatican to its very foundations: It should be possible for homosexuals to enter into life partnerships. In the election of the new cardinals, however, the Pope by and large tried to make the church leadership more inclusive and to include more people who are not from Europe. Washington’s Archbishop Wilton Gregory is thus the first black cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

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