By Siri Agrell
An admitted male prostitute, adult-child sex advocate and former Ryerson professor has been banned from a Toronto church after he was discovered singing at a recent Christmas concert.
It’s just another incident of bad publicity for Gerald Hannon, whose contract from Ryerson wasn’t renewed in 1996 after he admitted to The Toronto Sun he worked as a prostitute. He was also widely criticized for a 1978 article he wrote called “Men Loving Boys Loving Men,” in which he condones sex between adults and children.
The controversial writer was performing at an Oct. 27 concert at the University of Toronto’s St. Basil’s Roman Catholic Church when an audience member recognized his name in the program. A complaint was filed to the pastor, Father George LaPierre, who banned Hannon and his choir — Kammermusik Toronto — from the church.
“It’s interesting because there are probably a lot of people in the choir whose views are contrary to church doctrine,” Hannon said.
Suzanne Scorsone, a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, said the church was obliged to ban Hannan because he declared hi views publicly, and they conflict with church doctrine.
“If someone takes a public stance against the church, that person can’t operate within the church,” she said.
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