The principal of the school
where last week a religion teacher allegedly called being gay an
illness said on Monday the allegations are a "serious incident"
and the school has the responsibility to look into the matter.
"There may be homosexual students and teachers [at our
school]. It's my duty to make sure this place remains somewhere
that everyone can be welcomed and enjoy the same rights," said
Stefano Fava, principal of Itis Pininfarina school in
Moncalieri, a few miles south of Turin.
Last week, Fava was told of the Catholic religion lesson
that some students called "the perfect manual for homophobia",
in which a teacher allegedly said being gay is "a psychological
problem which science has demonstrated is curable".
Students said the teacher allegedly went on to describe a
case to back up the theory, in which a doctor, traumatized in
childhood by seeing his mother's cadaver, became homosexual, and
was then "converted" to heterosexuality after months of
psychoanalytic therapy, and "even" had children and a family
thereafter.
Fava said he couldn't comment on the internal investigation
but in coming days he would interview both the teacher in
question as well as the students who attended the lesson, and
would send his findings to the regional scholastic office.
Local middle school students responded to reports of the
lesson by requesting to abolish Catholic education in public
schools and replace it with lessons in religious history.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
