The leader of the Catholic Diocese in Cleveland, Ohio, is distancing himself from far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos after accepting an invitation to bless the crowd at an anti-abortion confab in suburban Cleveland starring Yiannopoulos, who fell from grace in the wake of comments that appeared to endorse pederasty.
Bishop Edward C. Malesic is set to pray Saturday morning for attendees at the second day of the “Bringing America Back to Life” conference, which is taking place at an Embassy Suites in Independence, Ohio. Yiannopoulos featured as the opening night keynote speaker on Friday. The event also includes such ultra-conservative speakers as Fr. James Altman, a virulent anti-vaxxer who was removed by church leaders from his Wisconsin parish after saying Catholic Democrats were “godless” and will spend eternity in the fiery depths of hell; Pamela Acker, a biologist and abortion foe known for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines; and Catherine Davis, an activist who equates abortion with genocide. Gubernatorial candidate and anti-abortion firebrand Jim Renacci—who was endorsed, then unendorsed by pillow huckster Mike Lindell—was at last year’s conference.
When asked about Yiannopoulos’ appearance at the gala, Deacon James Armstrong, a spokesman for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, said Malesic has not “paid much mind to any of the speakers—he has an interest in speaking to this group about how to best end abortion and that’s it.”
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“I don’t know that he’s aware of all the speakers or who’s on the program,” Armstrong told The Daily Beast on Friday night. “He really just has a few minutes to offer a prayer and he really wants to say to the gathered folks, his thoughts on how to end the scourge of abortion. That’s his intent. That’s it. He’s not hanging around, he’ll offer a prayer and leave.”
Malesic is “not a speaker, he’s not a presenter,” Armstrong continued. “He was invited to come and say a prayer, to say a few words, he’s not on the dais for speaking. So that’s his only interest.”
Armstrong then followed up with an emailed statement to The Daily Beast, explaining, “Bishop Malesic has been vocal in his support of the cause for life from conception to natural death. He accepted an invitation from the conference organizers to say a few words and offer a prayer, as he is the bishop of all the faithful in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. He does not plan on attending any of the presentations being offered.”
In early 2017, Yiannopoulos appeared on a podcast during which he said relationships between young boys and grown men are “some of the most important, enriching and incredibly life affirming, important shaping relationships,” and can be “hugely positive experiences for those young boys.”
“In the homosexual world, particularly, some of those relationships between younger boys and older men—the sort of ‘coming of age’ relationship—those relationships in which those older men help those young boys discover who they are and give them security and safety and provide them with love and a reliable, sort of rock, where they can’t speak to their parents,” Yiannopoulos insisted.
When one of the interviewers remarked that Yiannopoulos seemed to be describing “Catholic priest molestation,” Yiannopoulos shot back, “And you know what? I’m grateful for Father Michael. I wouldn’t give nearly such good head if it wasn’t for him.”
At another point in the podcast, Yiannopoulos called age-of-consent laws “arbitrary and oppressive.”
Yiannopoulos, who lost a major book deal and a plum slot at CPAC over the comments, and resigned from his position at far-right news outlet Breitbart, later claimed his words were taken out of context.
Another church leader invited to bless the convention, Pastor Walter Moss, said he was surprised to hear about Yiannopoulos’ sordid worldview.
“Number one, I didn’t know that was the case,” Moss told The Daily Beast when informed that Yiannopoulos had made favorable comments about pedophilia. “Number two, he’s speaking tonight. I’m appearing tomorrow. I've never heard of him before. I can't make any comment because I really didn't know. I will have to take some time to evaluate and investigate on my own.”
Yiannopoulos, who considers himself “ex-gay,” has publicly attacked Jews, feminists, Muslims, members of the transgender community, and Black Lives Matter activists, according to the Anti-Defamation League. He is now an advocate of gay conversion therapy.
At a November 2021 prayer rally in Baltimore, Yiannopoulos called Catholic bishops “sodomites,” and referred to face masks worn during the COVID pandemic as “fag muzzles.”
Yiannopoulos was unable to be reached for comment on Friday night.
