'Darkest period of my life': Gay conversion therapy in Italy

Rosario Lonegro was forced to enact his own funeral in a bid to strip him of his sexual proclivities.

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“It was the darkest period of my life," he told the BBC, recalling his seminary experience in 2017.

Haunted by guilt and fears of committing a sin in the eyes of the Catholic Church, Rosario said he "felt trapped with no choice but to suppress my true self”.

“The psychological pressure to be someone I was not was insurmountable. I could not change no matter how hard I tried.”

For more than a year, he was compelled to take part in spiritual gatherings outside the seminary, some over several days, where he was subjected to a series of distressing activities intended to strip him of his sexual proclivities.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2995x14r85o

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