Washington D.C., Nov 16, 2011 / 19:38 pm
Former U.S. bishop's conference employee Daniel Avila said his swift resignation after writing a column linking homosexuality with the devil is not evidence of the bishops shying away from the issue.
“The bishops have been and will continue to be strong,” said Avila, former bishops' conference policy adviser for marriage and family. “I resigned because of my desire to see the bishops continue their effective and courageous witness without distraction.”
“Unfortunately,” he added in his Nov. 7 statement to the National Catholic Register, “some will take away from this the opposite and erroneous lesson that the Church and people of faith should refrain altogether from speaking out to influence policymakers and recede entirely from the arena of debate.”
Avila offered his resignation to the bishops’ conference after an Oct. 28 piece of his in the Boston Pilot sparked a media firestorm.