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Undercover At Catholic Group That 'Cures' Homosexuals

L'Espresso's Michele Sasso went undercover in Turin to attend a meeting of the controversial Catholic group

Screenshot of documentary Desire Of The Everlasting Hills
Screenshot of documentary Desire Of The Everlasting Hills

Italian weekly L'Espresso sent journalist Michele Sasso undercover to a meeting of Courage, an international group linked to the Catholic Church that aims to "cure" people of homosexual activity.

Sasso attended his first Courage session in the northern Italian city of Turin in October, and wrote a highly critical account of his experience in the L'Espresso article published this week. He wrote that Courage treats gays and lesbians like recovering alcoholics whose only option for a good life is total abstinence.

Before his first meeting, Sasso — who'd concocted a story of coming out the day before his wedding — spent an hour talking to a Courage program coordinator who said he had successfully given up thoughts of "sex and pornography" and planned to marry a woman with whom he had a platonic relationship.

Sasso then sat in a circle with other men and women to watch Desire of the Everlasting Hills, a documentary film about three Catholics struggling to reconcile homosexuality with their faith. After acknowledging their sinful same-sex attractions, group members were asked to accept prayer, chastity and community support as the only means for salvation.

After the meeting, Sasso was bombarded with texts and phone calls encouraging him to stay with the group. "There was no concrete advice for those who were suffering and repressing their instincts, for those who were seeking comfort, love and companionship," Sasso wrote. "The group dynamics were like those found in (religious) sects."

Sasso later contacted the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Vatican department that authorizes the creation of new Courage chapters; but an official at the office refused to comment.

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Society

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Educating children at home is rarely accepted in Mexico, but Global Press Journal reporter Aline Suárez del Real's family has committed to daily experiential learning.

How I Made Homeschooling Work For My Mexican Family

Cosme Damián Peña Suárez del Real and his grandmother, Beatriz Islas, make necklaces and bracelets at their home in Tecámac, Mexico.

ALINE SUÁREZ DEL REAL/GPJ MEXICO
Aline Suárez del Real

TECÁMAC, MEXICO — Fifteen years ago, before I became a mother, I first heard about someone who did not send her child to school and instead educated him herself at home. It seemed extreme. How could anyone deny their child the development that school provides and the companionship of other students? I wrote it off as absurd and thought nothing more of it.

Today, my 7-year-old son does not attend school. Since August of last year, he has received his education at home, a practice known as home-schooling.

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