Vinnie's Case

“This story was provided via Human Rights and Equalities. Names and some details have been changed for anonymity.”

Vinnie was brought up in an Evangelical Christian community. 

When he was 18 years old he informed his parents that he had same sex attraction.

His father took him to a meeting with the minister and leaders of his congregation (12 people, and all male) who subjected him to intensive questioning about his sexuality and told him that in order to expel the demon possessing him he must confess to them all, as upstanding Christian men, how he had entered into a desire to engage in sexual practices with another male.

He was made to swear on a Bible that what he was sharing, and what he might share more of under their questioning, was the truth and he was warned by them of the spiritual consequences of lying or withholding information.

He was asked to describe in detail to all present, how he felt and what he thought, including what they termed was their desire for him to share with them  ‘unclean thoughts’,  that came into their minds when he was around other males. In alignment to this they gave him a range of scenarios to comment upon including:

- Vinnie being in changing rooms (he was a Rugby player)

- When he had shared tents and huts when away on religious camps throughout his childhood

- What type of sexual practices had he engaged in

- What type of fantasies did he have,  relating to having sex with other males

- What he found off-putting about having sex with females

- If he ever masturbated and if he did, how he masturbated - what brought him to arousal etc.

Vinnie described this as being extremely disturbing and humiliating for him and how it made him feel vile.

Following this experience, Vinnie was made to go down on his knees in the circle of these men, whilst they informed him that they would be performing upon him prayers against sexual perversion in an endeavour to free him from the demon of  homosexuality. It was explained to him that he was possessed by this demon and made to undergo 'praise worship' in which he was required to plead for forgiveness.

He said that he was terrified by the experience and its intensity of the men shouting in unison at times about the devil and demons and he said that he became overwhelmed with terror and, when asked was he feeling change within himself,  he said he just went along with everything they said to get to the end of the ordeal.

He said that his same sex attraction never left him but that he pretended it did for the sake of his family keeping face with the congregation. He also reports that he was used as a poster boy in the congregation to show others what great miracles could be done through the power of prayer and the exorcising of demons from people.

The Minister orchestrated an introduction for him to meet a woman from a sister church and Vinnie explains that he engaged in this façade, but never went further than holding her hand and pecking her on the cheek but throughout he felt distraught at the harm he was inflicting upon this young female through the deceit he was being compelled to keep up.

Three years  later, Vinnie was asked to assist in helping another young Gay male in the congregation to ‘move away’ from same sex attraction . He was asked to join the elders that evening to undertake a comparable session that he had undergone years before.

It was at this point that Vinnie left home and left the congregation,  as he considered that he could not go through with doing what had been done to him.

He contacted Human Rights and Equalities for help and they found him a place of sanctuary and trauma support etc. and challenged the Church for their actions.

Vinnie as a consequence of leaving home etc has been rejected by his family and congregation and has never been allowed to  return home since, even  to see his sick mother.

Vinnie during all these experiences has experienced severe depression,  necessitating hospitalisation and he continues to experience bouts of depression.

The guilt of harming the young female he says  played so heavily on his conscience that he tracked her down and she agreed to meet him which I helped with, she showed him care , compassion and forgiveness. She herself had left the congregation and was about to marry someone of her choosing. He says this engagement with her and the Christian compassion she showed to him has been the most healing and freeing experience of his life.

Vinnie, whilst continuing to experience same sex attraction , has never followed through on this attraction, as he explains he cannot shake off that he is possessed by a demon and it haunts him every minute of his life.

Vinnie is continuing to be supported through his experience of undergoing what was an exorcism through specialist Counselling.

He describes his life as a lonely and broken one as a result of his Church experiences.