A video of a church exorcism which claims to rid a teenage boy of his gay spirit has been posted on You Tube, sparking rows from gay equality campaigners.
The 20-minute video, posted online by Christian extremists Manifested Glory Ministries, shows the 16-year-old lying on the floor, convulsing,
while members of the Connecticut church stand over him.
During the incident, church members can be heard shouting: "Rip
it from his throat. Come on, you homosexual demon! You
homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!"
Others say: "Come out of his belly. It's in the belly - push." before the teen vomits in to a number of plastic bags and has a white sheet placed over him.
And despite the fact that the practice has been widely condemned, a church official has denied that the church is anti-gay.
"We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with
a man," the Reverend Patricia McKinney said. "We have nothing against
homosexuals. I just don't agree with their lifestyle."
McKinney also
denied the ritual was an exorcism, describing it instead as a casting
out of spirits. She said the church took care of the youth, providing
him clothes.
"He was dressing like a woman and everything. And he didn't want to be like that," McKinney said.
But Kamora Herrington, who runs a mentoring program at True Colors,
an advocacy group for gay youths said she believes it is fairly common.
'This happens all the time," she told the Daily Mail. "This is not isolated."
Robin
McHaelin, executive director of True Colors, said her organisation is
aware of five cases in recent years in which youths in her program were
threatened with exorcism.
In one case, she said, a child called
to report that his carer had called a priest who was throwing holy
water on his bedroom door.
"I think it's horrifying," she said. "What
saddens me is the people that are doing this think they are doing
something in the kid's best interests, when in fact they're murdering
his spirit."
McHaelin said she planned to report the situation to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.
An agency spokesman said the agency does not comment on complaints or investigations.