Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez of San
Juan, Puerto Rico has asked singer Ricky Martin to set a good example
for young people and stop promoting being gay.
In an interview with Primera
Hora published late last week, Martinez railed against the Puerto
Rican father of twin boys Matteo and Valentino. Martin announced
he's gay last March.
“Personally, I admire Ricky for the
great artistic gifts the Lord has endowed him, but please, for the
love of his children, for whom I imagine he wants the best, try to
set an example to our youth of the great values we all share, besides
sex.”
He added that the Roman Catholic church
“does not reject the homosexual [but] their immoral actions and
behaviors, and trying to promote homosexuality or sexual promiscuity
among our youth, indeed, is immoral regardless of where it comes
from.”
Gay rights activist Pedro Julio Serrano
criticized the cardinal in the same publication.
“Homophobia disguised as religion and
under the pretext of freedom of speech is still homophobia and it
kills,” Serrano said. “Enough of wanting to impose a moral
vision of human sexuality. Sexual orientation is an innate
characteristic of the human condition that cannot be changed, it is
not a behavior, it is not a disease, and it is not synonymous with promiscuity as argued by Cardinal Aponte Martinez.”
Last month, Pastor
Wanda Rolon, an influential social conservative in Puerto Rico, said
Martin was leading people to “hell.”