PASADENA >> City Manager Michael Beck announced Thursday that he has placed Public Health Director Dr. Eric Walsh on paid administrative leave following the discovery of online videos of religious sermons in which Walsh expresses discriminatory views on homosexuals, Muslims and others.

The announcement came just two days after Walsh stepped away from giving a commencement address at Pasadena City College, citing a scheduling conflict. The recordings, posted on YouTube and other websites, chronicle Walsh’s sermons given to Seventh-day Adventist congregations, including one on North Lake Avenue in Altadena, where he is an associate pastor.

“Dr. Eric Walsh has been placed on temporary paid administrative leave to provide the city of Pasadena the opportunity to complete an inquiry into statements made by him in his private capacity and to assess the impact those statements might have on his ability to effectively lead the city’s Public Health Department,” Beck said in a statement. “The Public Health Department remains a strong and vital part of the city of Pasadena organization and remains dedicated to protecting the health and wellness of our entire community.”

Pasadena is one of three cities in California that maintains its own health department. Walsh took the helm of the department in 2010 after a series of non-public meetings resulted in his appointment. Walsh has not responded to multiple calls for comment.

Topics discussed by Walsh in the pulpit include: homosexuality as a sin; Oprah, JAY Z, Beyonce and as examples of the spirit of anti-Christ; Darwin’s theory of evolution as a satanic belief; and describing the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, as a Satanist.

Those views contrast with Walsh’s public speeches. He has spoken at All Saints Church, where the city’s first gay marriage took place, as well as the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in 2012. In those addresses, Walsh expressed support for Pasadena’s multicultural community and argued that discrimination can actually increase sickness in a city. He also quoted rappers Tupac and Kanye West and gave Oprah accolades for her work for impoverished students in Africa.

In a 2009 sermon entitled “Who or What is Anti-Christ?” Walsh said he thought religion and politics should remain separate.

“At the end of the day in America you have to respect the fact that people are going to be different in opinion from you,” Walsh said. “It’s the only reason you have freedom to worship.”

Walsh’s public speeches floated to the surface this week amid his decision to cancel a commencement speech at Pasadena City College, which had already gone through a scandal surrounding the graduation address after uninviting alumnus and gay rights advocate Dustin Lance Black for some explicit photos that surfaced of him online. The college reinvited Black on Wednesday.

Mayor Bill Bogaard said Wednesday he had asked Beck to conduct an inquiry into Walsh’s statements.

“I think it’s entirely appropriate to give everyone a period of time first of all to gather information and to consider it,” Bogaard said of Beck’s decision to place Walsh on leave. “It’s a time out as the serious matter is considered by the proper person here at city hall, which is Michael Beck.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein denounced Walsh’s comments Thursday, saying he did not think Walsh could realistically separate his religious views from his actions as a public official.

“Public health is an extremely sensitive matter, and it really relies on the trust of the population served and because Pasadena is particularly impacted by diseases that affect the LGBT community,” Weinstein said. “I think he’s not qualified to be public health director with those views.”

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the largest nonprofit HIV/AIDS health provider in the country and has advocated for many HIV and LGBT issues in local communities. The organization had a float in the 2014 Rose Parade that featured a same-sex wedding.

Some council members and community members, however, defended Walsh’s record as public health director and cited the many programs he has developed to support Pasadena’s diverse community, including opening the Michael Antonovich Dental Clinic for HIV positive patients.

“I’m distraught, is the truth. I think very highly of Dr. Walsh. I think he has been doing as near as I can tell a terrific job,” Councilman Terry Tornek said. “Nothing has changed in terms of my personal observation or my assessment of Dr. Walsh’s performance, and I think the Health Department has been headed in the right direction, and we are proud of it and he has worked wonders.”

Aaron Saenz, president of San Gabriel Valley Pride, said while he did not agree with Walsh’s homophobic statements, he had not seen evidence that they affected Walsh’s work at the Public Health Department.

“I feel from the research I know I don’t think it affected his work. I think those are just his personal views however he chose to share them and that’s on him,” Saenz said.