Italian Catholic priest Don Mario Bonfanti is making the headlines after having decided to 'reveal the truth' about being gay

17 October 2012 | By Daniele Guido Gessa

A Catholic priest is now making the headlines in Italy after having decided to come out on Facebook on International Coming Out Day (11 October).

‘I am gay. Or, better, I am a happily gay priest,’ he stated.

Don Mario Bonfanti, 41, is a priest in Pagnano, near Lecco, in the Italian region of Lombardy. And his openness about his sexuality is something of a revolution.

Openly gay priests, in Italy, are a rarity. The Italian Catholic church is know for not being tolerant of LGBT people.

Bonfanti wrote on Facebook: ‘Truth makes us free, so Jesus said.

‘But, strangely, the Church denies this sentence. Catholic LGBT people must come out. They have to accept the truth.’

Last March, don Bonfanti was banned from another parish in Brianza, Lombardy, for having supported same-sex unions.

The local community defendend their priest, but the bishop did not change his mind and moved don Bonfanti to another church.

Now, a new group, with more than 1,200 followers, has been created on Facebook. ‘Io sto con don Mario’ (I support don Mario), is the name of the group.

Don Mario Bonfanti added: ‘I am happy in this way.’

Huff Post Gay Voices

A Catholic priest is shaking up the Italian media after reportedly coming out on Facebook.

As Gay Star News is reporting, Don Mario Bonfanti declared his sexuality on Coming Out Day, Oct. 11.

Bonfanti is quoted as writing on Facebook, "I am gay. Or, better, I am a happily gay priest."

He went on to note, "Truth makes us free, so Jesus said. But, strangely, the Church denies this sentence. Catholic LGBT people must come out. They have to accept the truth."

Further details of the priest's coming out, as well as his church's reaction, are relatively scarce (at least in the English media), but a new Facebook group, "Io sto con don Mario," or "I support don Mario," has since been launched and currently has over 1,500 members.

It's the second LGBT-related shakeup to take place in or around the Catholic church in recent weeks. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that 63 former Roman Catholic priests would publicly back Referendum 74, which would make Washington the seventh U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, on Oct. 11.