Ruadhán Jones
Fr Philip Bochanski Bills in Ireland and Northern Ireland seeking to ban conversion therapy are too “broad and sweeping”, threatening penalties for “honest conversations” about sexual identity, according to Christian organisations.
Courage International, an apostolate of the Catholic Church that counsels men and women with same-sex attractions, as well as evangelical organisations Affinity and the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FIEC), all spoke up as a cross-border Anti-Conversion Therapy Coalition (ACTC), pushed for a complete ban on conversion therapies.
Responsibility
Fr Philip Bochanski, executive director of Courage International, acknowledged the Irish State’s responsibility to protect people from harm, but added “it seems patently unjust to attempt to do so with such broad, sweeping definitions as those in the current bill”.
“The bill defines ‘conversion therapy’ to include ‘any practice … by any person that seeks to change … a person’s … gender expression’, which itself is defined to include a ‘person’s manifestation of their gender identity’,” Fr Bochanski said.
“The bill would thus seem to penalise an honest conversation about what it means to ‘acknowledge and accept’ one’s ‘sexual identity’ with fines of thousands of euros and months of imprisonment.”
Fr Bochanski told The Irish Catholic that the ‘Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018’ had come to their attention previously when it was alleged in the Seanad that Courage practised conversion therapies.
“Like similar legislation that has been proposed in other States and localities, the bill defines ‘conversion therapy’ so broadly that it ultimately poses a grave risk to anyone who would speak honestly about the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding chastity, sexual identity, or sexual intimacy,” Fr Bochanski said.
Evangelical leaders in Northern Ireland have also warned that if the Government there introduces a blanket ban on conversion therapies then ordinary church practices, such as preaching, prayer and pastoral care, could all be criminalised.
Graham Nicholls, Director of Affinity, told The Christian Institute that while some may be pushing for a ban out of a genuine concern for people being harmed by abusive practices, others have “a more sinister agenda, which is to close down religious freedom, religious discussion, the application of Bible teaching”,
Some are attempting to make sexuality and gender “a no-go area” which “cannot possibly be questioned”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Patricia Casey – Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Adult Psychiatry UCD – told The Irish Catholic she has “never seen conversion therapy for gay people in Ireland or Britain, in my whole career”.
The Department for Equality in Ireland confirmed to this paper that the prevalence of conversion therapy is not known at this time.
Prof. Casey added that the bill is an “unacceptable intrusion” into her professional sphere and said it seemed to be a “ruse to try and promote a transgender ideology”.
“It’s doing far more than banning conversion therapy, it’s actually dictating how doctors and mental health professionals must interact with people who have gender questions and issues,” Prof. Casey said.
“It’s talking about transgender children and you can only be affirmative about that. The implication of it is that one can’t even apply critical discussion with an adolescent who may be wanting transgender intervention,” Prof. Casey concluded.