Scroll To Top
Religion

Italian Catholic Priest Comes Out as Gay

Italian Catholic Priest Comes Out as Gay

Don-mario-bonfantix400

"I am a happily gay priest," Don Mario Bonfanti proclaimed with a Facebook post on International Coming Out Day, October 11.

sunnivie
Support The Advocate
LGBTQ+ stories are more important than ever. Join us in fighting for our future. Support our journalism.

A Roman Catholic priest in Italy used International Coming Out Day to come out as gay on his Facebook page, Gay Star News reports.

On October 11, Don Mario Bonfanti, 41, a priest in the Italian region of Lombardy, wrote, "I am gay. Or, better, I am a happily gay priest," according to Gay Star News' translation of the priest's Italian.

"Truth makes us free, so Jesus said," Bonfanti continued on his Facebook page. "But, strangely, the Church denies this sentence. Catholic LGBT people must come out. They have to accept the truth."

While it's unclear whether the Italian Catholic Church has formally responded to Bonfanti's coming-out, a Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members has sprung up, titled "Io sto con Don Mario," or "I'm with Don Mario."

Details surrounding Bonfanti's announcement are somewhat scant and subject to translation-based interpretation, but Gay Star News reports that Bonfanti had a run-in with his archdiocese last March when he was barred from a parish in Brianza for supporting same-sex unions.

sunnivie
The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.
Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.