The term homophobia means fear of homosexuality; but it has come to refer to all types of hostility towards all members of the LGBT community, such as violence, discrimination and prejudice. This sad state of affairs exists in most societies around the world.

This piece is designed to explore the social, psychological and religious roots of homophobia and to tackle the increasing rise of prejudice and discrimination against the LGBT community worldwide.  

Homosexuality is stereotyped as a mental disorder. This is absolutely false. The World Health Organisation, which listed homosexuality in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) in 1977, removed homosexuality as a mental disorder from the ICD-9.  The World Health Assembly endorsed this decision in 1990. This decision should be enough for a doubting Thomas to lay to rest any lingering doubts about this matter.

Homosexuals are stereotyped as child or adolescent molesters. This is probably the cruellest weapon homophobes use against homosexuals. My professional experience, working with children and families, leads me to believe that homosexuals are not more likely to abuse children than heterosexuals.

The public perception is that homosexuals are more unstable and promiscuous than heterosexuals and are unable to form an enduring relationship. Promiscuity is defined as the act of engaging in sexual relationships with a string of people or of being indiscriminate in persons who you have relationships with. 

My broad experience in befriending and working with members of the LGBT community in Malta and the UK leads me to believe that these people seek to build relationships on fidelity and unselfish commitment, very similar to that of their heterosexual counterparts. 

Many studies of sexual violence against homosexuals have argued that the most hostile gay-basher is a way of reassuring that he is not gay; he harbours doubts about his sexual orientation.

“The Roman Catholic Church puts homosexuals in an impossible situation”

The late Rosemary Radford Ruether was a feminist scholar and an American Roman Catholic theologian known for her significant contributions to the fields of feminist theology. In her piece ‘Homophobia, Heterosexism and Pastoral Practice’, Ruether says: “If we recognised a general capacity for same-gender sexual attraction, a capacity which has been repressed, but not killed, by social conditioning, in those who define themselves as homosexuals, we also  discover the psychological root of homophobia. Homophobia, the fear, revulsion and hatred of homosexuals is a projection onto homosexuals of our fears of our repressed capacity for same-gender sexual attraction… The secret which the homophobe wishes to keep from him or herself is that he or she too might feel sexually attracted to a person of the same gender.”

Pope Francis is quoted as saying in the book titled In the Closet of the Vatican, written by Frederic Martel: “Behind rigidity there is always something hidden, in many cases a double life.” 

The alienation, discrimination, loneliness suffered by homosexuals can be attributed to a number of factors, one of which is the attitude and teachings of Islamic and Roman Catholic traditions. I have the greatest respect for the Holy Bible and its content has enriched my life. However, I believe that it is not free of contradictions and attitudes that have long been abandoned by the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) itself.

The RCC puts homosexuals in an impossible situation. On the one hand it does not regard homosexual orientation as morally evil but considers homosexual acts as intrinsically disordered.

My position is that sexual expressions are in themselves neutral and become moral to the extent that they are expressive of mutual, self-giving and unselfish committed love. 

If it is the call of the RCC to be the moral voice of society, it should re-examine its traditional teaching in the light of the lives of so many people who have not sought celibacy as their path in life and who believe in the intimacy and union of a homosexual monogamous relationship. Mere compassion for the LGBT community is not good enough. 

The so-called ‘internal forum’ is a central concept in the RCC moral life. It is the process of using one’s own informed conscience to make decisions. It applies to all aspects of human decision-making, such as same-sex intimacy, not just to marriage annulments and remarriages. 

University researchers should be active agents to schools and involved in the negotiation and decision-making of how to implement information about the rights of the LGBT community.

On an individual basis, it would help if each person confronts himself/herself on the expectations and beliefs we have about persons of the LGBT community. 

I strongly believe that the LGBT community can be its own worst enemy. I regard most Pride parades as celebrated in democratic societies around the world as outlandish, freakish and offensive to mainstream sensibilities.

If the LGBT community wants recognition and acceptance, then every effort should be made to look normal and less flamboyant. Pride parades do not necessarily reflect the sentiments of all members of the LGBT community. They actually give homophobes more reason not to accept them. 

Frank Muscat is a retired guardian ad litem and reporting officer (London) and a retired Law Society Child Care Panel interviewer (London).