Church Is Oppressor, Cincy Gay Pastor Says

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CINCINNATI, Ohio (A) The pastor of a newly formed homosexual church says "the great oppressor of homosexuals in history has been the church. But God loves us ... God loves everybody."

The Rev. Robert Sirico said he accepted an offer to head the Metropolitan Community Church of Cincinnati this week after a group of 30 persons expressed an interest in joining the denomination.

The Rev. Mr. Sirico, a licensed Baptist minister, came to Cincinnati from a congregation in Seattle,

Wash.

MCC has a growing membership of 20,000 in the United States, England and Canada and many, are heterosexuals, he said.

"Being gay is not something you do, but something you are," he said.

The Rev. Mr. Sirico said he declared himself a homosexual two years ago, though he said he never engaged in any sexual relations with either sex.

"Misinterpretations of the word of God" have made the church universally "the great oppressor of homosexuals in history," he said.