Homofob ber om ursäkt

Vänner,

efter drygt 30 år av försök att ”bota” homosexuella avslutar den amerikanska högerkristna organisationen Exodus sin verksamhet och dess nuvarande ordförande Alan Chambers ber om ursäkt för den skada och det lidande som Exodus orsakat. Samtidigt berättar han om sin egen undertryckta homosexualitet:

”Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.”

”And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.”

http://exodusinternational.org/2013/06/i-am-sorry/

Även i vår kyrka här i Sverige finns personer som vill bota homosexuella och som alltså ser homosexualitet som en sjukdom. Det är tragiskt, men Alan Chambers visar att det finns en väg ut ur homofobin.

Gert Gelotte