Sérgio Viula, 42 years old, was one of the founders of the Movement for Healthy Sexuality (Moses). The group is an evangelical NGO that helps people who want to stop being gay.
Sérgio is a professor of English, philosophy and theologian. He was one of those who joined the program and abandoned homosexuality. The Rio native got married, had two children and closely followed the sexual reorientation methods practiced by the NGO.
In an interview with the website "Eleições Hoje", Sérgio said that actions seeking to change sexual orientation do not work and that they only cause pain to those who undergo them.
"Actually, ex-gay doesn't exist, it's pure self-suggestion. I started going to church and realized that homosexuals had no way of dealing with their difficulties, due to a lack of guidance from the leaders, so I decided to found the Movement for Healthy Sexuality , along with João Luiz Santolin and Liane França. That's when I really started to say at opportune moments that I was ex-gay", says Sérgio.
The carioca says that today he knows he was making a mistake, but he thought that his attraction to men could disappear with prayers and dedication to God.
"In the group, basically, we thought that being gay was a sin, that it should be confessed and abandoned. To do this, we did proselytizing, counseling, prayer, preaching, we recommended certain books, Bible reading, things that believers generally do, but with a focus on homosexuality , always demonizing homosexuality, unfortunately."
Sérgio worked at Moses for almost 7 years, from 1997 to 2003. According to him, the group brainwashes the participants. "You have to isolate yourself from your old circle of friends, start going to church meetings, doing counseling sessions, praying, fasting, that kind of thing. When someone happened to get involved with another homosexual, he had to confess what did", he says.
But, despite all the prayers, he says that no one stopped being gay. "There were relationships even within the group, between one church activity and another, they always made time for that. And there are people to this day repeating this stupid speech."
The professor also commented on the homophobic speeches given by pastor Silas Malafaia. "He acts on the basis of bad faith, with financial interests, power projects, etc. And he says he has never been gay, is he? I am very suspicious of people who spend so much energy and money to fight something that has nothing to do with it. see for yourself."
Sérgio decided to come out for good, after a trip to Singapore, when he hooked up with a Filipino man. "There was persecution from "Moses", a lot of people were in shock. But my children never created problems." He says that today the children have a good relationship with him and his partner, Emanuel. "Religious conversion that does not admit its homosexuality does not deserve your time and talent", concludes the professor.
