Argentine Priest Asks Archbishop To Apologize And Repudiate Support For LGBTQ March

In an open letter published by InfoCatolica, Father Federico Highton, an Argentine missionary priest, addressed Archbishop Marcelo Colombo, who also serves as president of Argentina's episcopal conference. Titled, 'The Catholic Church is in Argentina, not Sodom', Father Highton denounced the bishop’s January 30 statement in support of a leftist, pro-LGBTQ rally held in the capital of Mendoza province on February 1.

The Mendoza Archdiocese’s statement expressed “deep concern over speech that considers anti-racism, feminism, and the struggle for the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community, as a “'cancer that must be removed' in the name of 'freedom' or 'common sense'. These expressions, which promote hatred and exclusion, are alarming and contrary to the values ​​of the Gospel." It also criticized Argentine President Javier Milei, who told the Davos Forum last month of his opposition to transgenderism. The diocesan statement went on to say, “We cannot, nor should we, remain indifferent to these manifestations of hate. We may have differences of opinion or positions, but we must never stop embracing and accompanying, from evangelical principles, the people who make up these groups, especially those who are most vulnerable and marginalized."

The statement read: "Pope Francis invites us to build a Church that is 'Everyone's House' and a 'Field Hospital': a space where all people, particularly those who suffer and are excluded, find welcome and love. Following this call, we reiterate our commitment to inclusion, dignity and the rights of all." It called for “fraternal dialogue and solidarity” in furtherance of a just and egalitarian society. "We join the march on Saturday, February 1 in defense of the freedom and dignity of those who fight for a world without exclusion. We invite the entire community to join this effort for a society where love, respect and social justice prevail," the statement concludes.

The march featured nearly nude men and women, some wearing garb and accessories associated with sexual abuse and sado-masochism. There were also protesters wielding signs denouncing President Milei and “fascism.” There were numerous children in the march who were exposed to aberrant practices performed by adults.

Fr. Highton is a missionary who has freed Christians from slavery and sexual bondage in Pakistan, from where he said he is working “in the real periphery.” Writing in “fraternal dialogue”, he advised the archbishop not to claim to speak authoritatively of the Gospels, the Church, nor for fellow Catholics of Argentina. “Your statements to the media, in which you ratified your support for the ‘LGBTQ’ march, neither represent in any way the Catholic Church nor Argentina. In any event, you only represent yourself,” Highton wrote. “It is clear that accompanying people facing difficulties (economic, health-related, deprived of liberty) is a Gospel mandate, but the supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls; In neither your statement or your words have I seen a call for theses poor souls to convert, who, besides living in this condition, are used for the purposes of ‘ideological colonizations’ (according to Pope Francis) which offend the Gospel and even nature,” Highton wrote.

“Therefore, I ask you for the love of God and for souls, do not repeat that ‘the Church must always offer these places of service such as the Pastoral Diversity Ministry’. No. The Church is in the service of the Gospels; and sin can only be fought with sincere conversion, confession, and holy preaching. To support this march, which was clearly a porno-sodomitic exhibitionism (which can be seen in the filthy photos published by the media), and that called for a ‘humanist vision that is found in Argentina’s DNA’, you have not done any favors for anyone by the lobbies advocating against nature. Therefore, even though the Church has given you a commission, I beg you and beg God for the good of souls that you do not repeat your abuse of power to support, even indirectly, the gay lobby.”

Highton wrote that Argentina has always praised “family and marriage (man and woman, the only true marriage) as the basic cell of society. And ordinary people, the People of God, (which can be seen in slums, as you well know) condemns the crime of abortion and sins against nature. 

Highton wrote that despite what some may say, Argentina is a Catholic country. He noted that bishops like Colombo have been outspoken and appear to be biased in favor of the LGBTQ agenda, unlike their relative silence during the 2018 national debate that ultimately resulted in the legalization of abortion on demand. He noted that “thousands of Argentine priests” are silently opposed and live in fear of being marginalized, “which is a paradox because you have asked that the Church should not leave anyone on ‘the margins.’”

“The reality is that many Argentine bishops, fellow members of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, privately disparage your remarks. This is true for many Protestants who, far from seeing this as a call to a true and healthy ecumenism, find in this a barrier to the unity which Jesus Christ insistently called for.”

Highton asked Colombo, who said that “no one should be left marginalized”, including the “LGBTQ community”, whether he would include “paedophiles, murderers, and baptized criminals in your program of accompanying everyone without exception?” He asked whether “Catholics who some call ‘nazis’ or ‘fascists’, “young people who want dignified Masses without clownishness”, and “those who wish to receive Christ in the mouth” will also be “accompanied?” He continued: “Or is the accompaniment reserved only for those with nostalgia for Sodom and Gomorrah?”

Highton’s letter stated finally:

“Dear Father Bishop: from the real periphery, where no Catholics are nearby but accompanied by Christians enslaved in a country dominated by Islam, I cordially invite you and two of your peers who also adhered, to retract your statement and publicly apologize for an invitation to an immodest exhibition where even children were exposed to aberrant spectacles provided by unbalanced adults: lest some people will later, and with reason, conclude that "the Church hierarchy” now not only supports these exhibitions by the LGBTQ collective but also supports the exposure of minors to them.”