By Paula Bistagnino. Víctor Doroschuk, an evangelical pastor from San Rafael with more than 10,000 followers and a daily column on Public Radio LV4, said on air that homosexuality is a sin that “leads to death.” More than two hundred people signed a complaint filed with INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism), and he must attend a conciliation hearing on November 23. He was also reported to the Ombudsman for his remarks. Evangelical pastor Víctor Doroschuk, head of the “Life and Peace Ministry” Church, with more than 10,000 followers in the city of San Rafael, Mendoza province, was reported to the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) and the Ombudsman for Audiovisual Communication Services after saying on air on the local public radio station that “homosexuality is a sin,” “it leads nowhere good, it leads to death,” and “it must be reported.” The complaint was filed by Lucas Butcher, a young man. The 19-year-old, originally from Quilmes, has lived in San Rafael for three years. “When I received the audio, I wasn't surprised. It's a very conservative society, and things like people throwing rocks at the Pride March have happened here. But that doesn't mean I didn't find it extremely serious that this man could speak so freely on the city's public radio station,” he told Presentes. After the pastor's remarks were made public—they aired on October 30—Butcher and another young man, Diego Silvestre, spearheaded the complaints. They garnered a lot of support and filed a complaint with the signatures of nearly 300 other people. “This man's power in San Rafael is considerable. He leads a religious community of thousands of people, runs a school, and has many social programs in neighborhoods. That's what his defenders rely on. He also speaks on the radio every day. What he says reaches a lot of people.”

"We want a public apology"

The complaint filed with INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism) was sponsored by lawyer Mariela Herrera, from the San Rafael branch of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH). “We joined them, but it should be noted that these two young men were the ones who took the initiative,” Herrera said. She confirmed that another complaint was filed with the Ombudsman for Audiovisual Communication Services. They are now considering filing a supplementary criminal complaint. The complaint filed with INADI states that the pastor's remarks “incite Christians to persecute and hate members of the LGBTQ+ community,” and that they are based “on a homophobic analysis of the Bible.” As a result of these actions, a hearing with the parties will be held on November 23 at the INADI delegation offices in the city of Mendoza. “We want a public apology in all media outlets and a commitment that he will no longer publicly defend the discriminatory idea that homosexuality is an illness,” Butcher said. Along with the complaint filed with the Ombudsman's Office, we are also requesting "public service announcements about sexual diversity and rights to try to repair the damage done. We are also considering demanding airtime on the radio."

“LGBT discrimination tops the list of complaints in Mendoza”

Daniel Di Giuseppe, INADI's provincial delegate in Mendoza since March 2016, explained to Presentes that this case is not exceptional. There are precedents of religious figures denounced for discrimination and for inciting violence against sexual diversity. The most recent case: that of Father Jorge Pato Gómez from Malargüe. In July, he called for "taking up arms" against sex education. "That's why the reaction these statements had in the community of San Rafael is so positive: it means that We are far less willing to tolerate these kinds of statements and attitudes“In the year and a half we’ve been in office, 23% of the complaints we’ve received are for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and these top the list,” Di Giuseppe emphasized. While INADI (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism) evaluates its decision on the case, the official says he finds the pastor’s persistence in his statements, using freedom of expression as an argument, striking. “Freedom of expression ceases to be freedom of expression if it violates laws or the rights of others.”

“He may think that, but he won’t say it in public.”

Presentes contacted the director of the Radio LV4 of San RafaelMartín Rostand (in charge since March). The station is part of Radio Nacional. Rostand said that he was the one who offered Pastor Doroschuk airtime, but distanced himself from the pastor's statements, arguing that the airtime was granted through a "broadcasting agreement" and therefore the radio station "is not responsible" for the content. However, he did not condemn the pastor's remarks: "Furthermore, I cannot exercise prior censorship and therefore I don't know in advance what he's going to broadcast. But as soon as I found out, I called him and told him that he can think whatever he wants, whatever his beliefs dictate, but he can't say it on a public broadcast." Although Doroschuk neither retracted nor apologized for his statements, but rather justified them in his Facebook post and in a local newspaper—the first to publish the story and which later apologized to him for its interpretation of his words—Rostand says he accepted the pastor's apology and explanation: that it was an "old" audio recording and that he was simply quoting passages. "I'm agnostic and don't profess any religion, but I believe in the social function of religions and I greatly respect the work the pastor does in San Rafael. I've known him for a long time, we're almost friends, and the idea for this column came about, something that has always been on the public radio station here," Rostand said. He admitted that the pastor's statements are sufficient grounds for terminating his contract, but said he will wait for INADI's decision before evaluating the matter.

What does the pastor's audio say?

“There are sins that have crept into the heart of the home, into contemporary society, and into the media (…) God doesn't change, times do, the world does. What is sin, is sin. LThe Church today seems afraid to say that homosexuality is a sin and must be denounced. (…) We don't have to judge sins. We have to denounce them: tell people 'this is sin' and it leads to death. What must be done? Denounce it, and for that we must use all the means at our disposal: radio, television, literature (...) But also, at the same time, to announce the good news: that whoever repents, whoever seeks God, will find freedom, a solution and eternal life,” says the audio that Doroschuk broadcast on October 30 in his daily column “Sowing Values”.

“I don’t hate homosexuals”: ​​Doroschuk’s statement on Facebook

As soon as the media picked up on the controversy, Doroschuk wrote a column on his Facebook page. He has over six thousand followers and regularly posts "pro-life" messages and opposes "gender ideology." He titled it "The Truth and Nothing More" and included the leaked audio, arguing that it was a column recorded in 2009. He stated that "many journalists have distorted the truth, taking phrases out of context and adding a discriminatory element that never existed, creating a narrative based on malicious intent and, above all, generating discrimination and a direct attack on our religious faith." Then, he justified his assertion that homosexuality is a sin: “It is clear in the audio that I mention several sins, and among them, homosexuality, since it is expressly detailed in the Bible, and it is the Holy Book of all Judeo-Christian traditions.” And he attempted to explain what he meant by “denounce”: “I used the term ‘denounce sin’ in the sense that the Church of Christ has the responsibility conferred by the scriptures to preach and proclaim the practices that God condemns in his word.” Also, in the more than 40 lines he wrote, he clarified that he does not speak from hatred but from love and that there is “clear discrimination and persecution” against him because of his faith: “Am I being labeled homophobic? I do not hate homosexuals nor do I have any antipathy towards them; on the contrary, it is an act of love to preach the gospel to them, and if I cannot freely read and teach what the Bible commands me to do, then there is clear discrimination and persecution against the faith I profess.”