Alfredo Ormando
Alfredo Ormando | |
---|---|
Born | 15 December 1958 |
Died | 23 January 1998 (aged 39) |
Cause of death | Burns from self-immolation |
Occupation | Writer |
Alfredo Ormando (15 December 1958 – 23 January 1998) was a gay writer from
Ormando's only published book was the novel Il Fratacchione ("The Overweight Monk"), which recounted his two years at a monastery attempting to get closer to God and to purify himself of unclean desires. The narrator in the book states, "It isn't true that gay is beautiful. On the contrary, it is a continual death on the inside. Either you accept being gay, or you kill yourself."[2]
On 13 January 1998, Ormando set himself on fire in
As of 2015[update], Ormando's actions are commemorated annually in St Peter's Square by LGBT rights activists.[3]
In 2014, the filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson, produced a 40-minute documentary film called Alfredo's Fire for the San Francisco-based Open Eye Pictures. Wilson argued that, "Fire was the perfect allegory for the experiences of LGBT people. Fire is at once a self-annihilation, and harkens back to the Middle Ages when homosexuals were burned at the stake". He said that church authorities downplayed the event, arguing that Ormando was psychologically disturbed, had family problems and had not been making a protest against the Church.[2]
See also
- Catholic Church and homosexuality
- Dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality
- List of political self-immolations
References
- ^ "Man sets himself on fire in Vatican". BBC News. December 19, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ a b Andriote, John-Manuel (15 March 2013). "'Alfredo's Fire' Sure to Spark Discussion About Religion, Homosexuality and the Deadliness of Intolerance". HuffPost.
- ^ a b c "13 gennaio 1998 Lo scrittore gay Alfredo Ormando si dà fuoco a San Pietro per protesta contro la Chiesa". 11 January 2015.
External links
- Alfredo's Fire is a documentary by Open Eye Pictures about Ormando's death.
- Soulforce Alert, January 3, 2001