An Italian priest has been suspended from ministry because of his outspoken support for homosexuals.

Bishop Luigi Palletti of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato—a coastal diocese southeast of Genoa—said that Father Giulio Mignani had been barred from ministry for “holding positions that are not aligned with Church teaching.” The priest had been reprimanded last year for protesting the Vatican’s directive against church ceremonies blessing same-sex unions.