You Don't Say: Catholic Priest Reportedly Claims LGBT Flag Was Made by Devil

Reverend Jerome Lavigne, Catholic priest and vicar for education at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary, has declared that the rainbow flag which serves as symbol of LGBT pride, was invented by Satan himself and represents “lawlessness” and a “break from the natural order”, StarMetro reports.

The fact that a servant of the Catholic Church verbally assaulted the universal symbol associated with LGBT community apparently came as a shock to some, as a number of critics rushed to demand apologies from the diocese and from the city’s Catholic school board, because Lavigne, while not working for the Calgary Catholic School District, does visit its schools "for events and helps prepare their students for confirmation."

Reacting to this development, Calgary Bishop William McGrattan said in a statement that the church "advocates that we live together in an atmosphere of peace, safety and respect for the dignity of one another regardless of age, ancestry, body image, culture, sexual orientation and religion".

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Lavigne himself also did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for an interview.