CANADA
Ottawa Citizen
ANDREW NGUYEN
August 24, 2014
André Samson thought the only way to hide his sexual orientation was to be celibate and enter the priesthood.
But when he was ordained, he quickly discovered that there were many others in the church who shared his secret.
Nearly a year ago, Samson summoned the courage to come out on the popular TVA show hosted by Denis Lévesque. After the show, he wandered over to a nearby restaurant in a celebratory mood and thought, “I really felt for the first time in my life, I felt free.”
Following his appearance, Samson said he received hundreds of emails from strangers applauding him for his courage, but what stung the most was that not one of them was from a Catholic priest.
Just last year, Samson suffered backlash from his colleagues after attempts to raise the issue of sexual abuse. His attempts led to a confrontation at the large Montreal church where he was serving, he was treated as a pariah and eventually lost his position at the church.
Samson, who remains a priest, said he feels he has a responsibility to speak out: “If not me, who will?”
He added that many priests and bishops continue to hide their sexual orientation because of their dependence and their fear of being rejected by the church, but he wants others to revel in who they really are.
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