A Catholic bishop has apologised after he said gays should be killed, leading to a criminal complaint being filed against him.

Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur, eastern Switzerland, made the controversial comments at the ‘Joy in Faith’ forum in the German city of Fulda.

At the forum, Huonder quoted a bible passage which states that homosexuals should be killed.

He read out Leviticus 20:13, which is sometimes quoted in opposition to gay rights.

It reads: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

In the 50-minute address, he also took aim at gender theory, divorce, sex education and same-sex marriage.

The 73-year-old has now apologised, saying it was “a mistake” to write the speech “on a theological and academic level”, reports the Local.

He also blamed the summer holidays, saying he had no staff around him to warn him that he could have offended with the speech.

“My colleagues would have drawn my attention to the danger,” he said.

Swiss LGBT organisation the Pink Cross has since filed a criminal complaint about the comments, after saying it was “shocked” by them.

One individual has filed a separate complaint.