Theologian at University of Lugano awaits court ruling for alleged homophobia

The police court in Bellinzona will announce its first-instance ruling in the proceedings against a German theologian teaching in Lugano on Monday afternoon. The professor at the Faculty of Theology is accused of discrimination and incitement of homophobia. The 68-year-old professor at the University of Italian-speaking Switzerland (USI) has been charged with allegedly authorising the publication of a homophobic article in a theological monthly publication of which he is the editor. The man, who had pleaded not guilty, appeared in person before the Bellinzona police court on Monday last week after objecting to a penalty which had sentenced him to a fine of CHF9,450 ($10,373) and one for CHF1,850 in December 2022. Charge by Pink Cross The professor had been convicted of discrimination and incitement to hatred because he had authorised the publication of an article by a Polish theologian in the German Catholic monthly magazine Theologisches. The text compared homosexuals within the ...