“Sadly it is religion, that often breeds contempt for gays” -Bishop Robert Lynch

Robert Nugent Lynch, the current Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida, last Monday (June 13th), a day after the Orlando massacre, through his blog, expressed his thoughts that he wanted to share with the world ever since he came to know about the shooting at the gay bar in Orlando that killed at least 49 people and injured 53. He begins the blog by stating that on the day of the tragedy, all he could muster was send a text message saying sorry to the Bishop of Orlando, Bishop John Noonan.

Bishop Lynch then talks about the gun laws in the United States. According to him, the founding fathers who crafted the Second Amendment had no idea about the assault rifles that would become available in the future. They crafted the gun laws for the self-protection of American people when only heavy shotguns and pistols were available in the market. It is high time that the gun laws be revised. The modern assault weapons which could be used for mass destruction should only be made available to the armed forces.

The Bishop then says that all the religions, including Christianity, plays a role in making the LGBT people a target for violence. The religious teachings often breed contempt for the LGBT people in the minds of many faithful, which could then turn to hatred, and then ultimately lead to violence.

Bishop Lynch, pointing to the Orlando tragedy, says that all the people who were killed during the massacre were made in the image and likeness of God. All religion, teaches, and believes that. All the religion should stand by that as well. As soon as he heard about the incident on Sunday, he knew that there would be a religious connection. Singling out people based on their nationality, sexual orientation, and religion, for victimization, is offensive to the Lord's ears. This has to stop.

Brave and big-hearted Catholic leadership during this difficult time. https://t.co/YZapnBr7MC — Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) June 14, 2016

The Bishop also says that banning the Muslims from entering the country is not a solution. The majority of the Muslims are good, God-fearing, and peace-loving people. The Devil and devilish intent escape no religious iteration.

Bishop Lynch closes the blog by praying for the souls of the people who died in the massacre, and wishing a complete recovery for the wounded.

The blog from the Bishop comes in the wake of a statement released by New Ways Ministry on Sunday, after the massacre, criticizing the Catholic leaders regarding their apparent silence about the incident. The New Ways Ministry is a national Catholic LGBT outreach ministry. Its executive director Frank DeBernardo said that it is high time that the Catholic leaders speak against the attacks on LGBT people.

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