Conversion therapy for gay people, or others, is based on crass ignorance and wrong understandings of medicine, science and the Bible.
One big question that is always asked is: “Are people born gay or are they affected by their early enviornment and experiences”.
In my own case, I was sexually abused by a young man of 18 + when I was only 6. Did that experience damage my emotional and sexual development?
The honest answer is : “I don’t know,”.
What I do know is that my mother had two uncles were gay ( in secret in those times of ignorance ).
In fact my granduncle Jimmy was quite effeminate and was a servant to the Queen Mother.
Also interesting is the fact that I have several cousins, male and female, who are openly gay. In fact I married my cousin to her partner in Tullamore, Co Offaly, a couple of years ago. It was an absolutely wonderful extended family day.
Even the scientific and medical communities cannot answer the question.
But whatever the answer is the use of Conversion Therapy is barbaric.
I would imagine that no one, at birth, would choose to be gay, especially in the past, given the amount of suffering and rejection people had to undergo.
My orientation certainly caused ne a lot of struggle – especially between the ages of 13 and 40.
My distress was greatly added to by the Catholic education I was subjected to and the amount of uslesss guilt that was placed upon my shoulders.
Through excellent psychotherapy at 40 ish I cast off all those chains and became truly free for possibly the first time in my life.
If I was asked now if I would prefer to be heterosexual my answer would be a firm NO.
I am very much at peace with myself.
Conversion Therapy should be outlawed everywhere.
Tired after the march yesterday
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 