A senior figure for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has come under fire for claiming that medical evidence proves that homosexual behavior "leads to early death."
Peter Kearney, director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office, made his comments in an interview on the current affairs program "Scotland Tonight" on July 26.
"There is a link between same-sex sexual practice and early death. That's not something that the Catholic Church believes, there is an overwhelming body of medical evidence to suggest that. One study has shown that the life expectancy of a practicing homosexual man will be reduced by something between 12 and 20 years," Kearney said.
The spokesperson went on to say that there is a "conspiracy of silence around the vast array of medical evidence that exists to suggest that same-sex behavior is hazardous, is harmful, and is dangerous."
