Priest unafraid of prison for defending teaching on homosexuality: ‘I must fight for the Lord’

Reinstatement of the turnback policy would “be a moral disaster, not just a legal error,” U.S. bishops said. The court is set to hear oral arguments March 24.

Father Jakob Rolland could face imprisonment in Iceland for defending Catholic doctrine regarding homosexuality and for providing support to individuals with the inclination who seek spiritual guidance within the Church.

The French-born priest, chancellor of the Diocese of Reykjavík, strongly maintained that his duty is to defend the truth and “fight for the Lord.” In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he said his aim is to awaken citizens to what he characterizes as an “LGBT dictatorship” against which many are afraid to raise their voices.

The persecution begins

In early March, Rolland was invited to a radio program where the host asked him about the requirements necessary to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. Specifically, she wanted to know whether homosexual individuals could receive Communion. The priest simply explained the Catholic Church’s doctrine on the matter.

“If a person has a tendency or inclination toward homosexuality, that’s not a sin. It becomes a sin when such an inclination is lived out in a sinful manner. First, one must undergo conversion, go to confession, and truly consider the possibility of changing one’s life and living in chastity in order to receive Communion,” he explained.

Rolland also noted that many people with same-sex attraction turn to the Church seeking help and that they “are in the process of changing their lives.”

“Of course, we are there to help people,” he added.

In response to questions from the host, the priest clarified that the Church does not speak of “conversion therapies” but rather of spiritual accompaniment. It was at that point that the controversy erupted.

Since 2023, Iceland’s penal code has stipulated that anyone who attempts to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation may face prison sentences of up to three years.

Following the broadcast of the interview, LGBT groups across the country launched a vigorous campaign demanding that the priest be sanctioned. The case has garnered media attention and was even brought up for parliamentary debate.

The Samtökin ’78 National Queer Organization of Iceland is leading the campaign against Rolland. According to its arguments, even if the measures the priest alluded to do not constitute “conversion therapy,” the law would also prohibit providing support or assistance to homosexual individuals seeking spiritual guidance within the Church.

Socialist member of Parliament Sigmundur Rúnarsson denounced the priest’s remarks before Parliament, emphasizing that Icelandic society “has nothing to do with the Catholic Church.”

The Ministry of Justice came to the priest’s defense, arguing that “never in Iceland’s history has an accusation been leveled against an individual in Parliament, an institution whose mandate is to enact laws.”

The priest maintains that from a legal standpoint, “there are no grounds for arrest.”

A duty to speak the truth

In Iceland, between 8% and 10% of the population identifies as Catholic. “Most of the reactions to my statements have been positive; there are even people who have written to me because they wish to draw closer to the Church,” noted the priest, 70, who maintains that he does not fear a potential prison sentence for his words: “I must fight for the Lord,” he emphasized.

“If we don’t speak up, no one does. Everyone is afraid to do so even if they disagree due to the laws and prevailing mindset here in Iceland; and because the country is so isolated, the outside world remains unaware of what is happening,” he said.

The priest also lamented that the Church no longer has a place in schools to teach catechism, whereas LGBT ideology, he pointed out, is being introduced into classrooms at ages as young as 5.

“I believe we have a duty to speak the truth and to protect children. That’s the great danger in Iceland: People are sleeping amidst a dictatorship. They don’t dare to speak out,” he lamented.

Rolland lamented that the prevailing mentality in the country “is destroying our youth,” though he remains hopeful seeing that every year, more young people turn to the Church and wish to receive baptism.

The priest said that his faith and the support he has received from Catholics and other religious groups in the country keeps him going, as well as his love for the people of Iceland, his adopted homeland for over four decades.

“I want to bring the Church and the message of Christ to them, so that they may draw closer to the Lord. It’s not easy, because this is a highly secularized country, but I see that it is yielding results,” he noted.

“I thought it was necessary to speak the truth. People are being pushed toward a wrongful lifestyle, and we must help them wake up. I have always been this way since childhood. I have fought for the faith, so I see no reason to stop now,” he stated.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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