Pastor's gay conversions throw spotlight on psychologist wife

Psychologist denies practicing 'Christian' reparative treatment for gay men, demands her marriage to pastor not to be reported.

Psychologist Mariella Blackman has denied claims that she offers 'Christian' reparative treatment for homosexuals, after her husband - televangelist pastor Gordon-John Manché - cancelled a testimonial of three gay men who said they had been converted and turned straight.

Blackman however demanded that MaltaToday does not report her denial, if the newspaper mentioned that she was married to Manché. After first providing comments explaining her position, Blackman requested that the article omit mentioning the fact that she is marriage to the pastor, whose gay 'faith conversion’ event drew the ire of hundreds and prompted protest plans.

When told that MaltaToday would not withhold such information from its reportage, Blackman withdrew her comments. Her marriage to Manché has already been reported in the media.

Blackman a well known psychologist amongst TV audiences, having also served as vice president of the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists. She is no longer on the union’s executive.

In 2007, she had her warrant temporarily withdrawn over issues which arose over the equivalence of her City University in London Masters degree with those issued by the University of Malta.

The issue of ‘faith’ conversion and homosexual ‘reparative therapy’ hit the headlines days ago when on Thursday evening, a conversion event organised by Smash TV’s evangelical charismatic pastor Gordon-John Manché was announced on Facebook.

The Facebook event ‘Gay no more – Made new by the power of Christ’ was cancelled by Manché after protestors planned to picket the event. This latter protest was later cancelled due to lack of police permits.

Manché said his activity had been “hijacked by people incited by others” and said his critics were being intolerant. “It’s not therapy. It was going to be testimonials from three men who were homosexuals before giving their life to Christ. It’s got nothing to do with hating homosexuals,” Manché said.

He also denied claims that his wife Mariella Blackman does ‘reparative treatment’ for gay men and women. “This is untrue. We work different jobs and we’re professional about it. I’m a pastor, she’s a psychologist.”

The claims surfaced following the outrage provoked by the faith conversion event, which many decried as homophobia or ‘racial hatred’.

The Malta Gay Rights Movement also expressed concern at “the emergence of ongoing efforts by Gordon-John Manche, pastor of an evangelical church in Malta to mischaracterize homosexuality and promote the notion that sexual orientation can be changed and about the possible resurgence of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).”

It referred to statements by the American Psychological Association (2009), which said that, according to studies, such efforts only lead to individuals merely learning to ignore or not act on their same-sex attractions.

“Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex.”

In a statement on Friday, the National Youth Council (KNZ) also condemned the event for indicating that members of the gay community "can somehow be 'healed' from their sexual orientation."

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he he hope gordon will start imagine that he is the new jesus. i can see some goats buying tshirts of his face hehe
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The Homosexuals in DRACHMA (A RELIGIOUS GROUP ENTERTAINING GAYS) are in love with Christ but they are still homosexuals, and they have the support of their parents. So what is the point of Manche saying that homosexuals can be cured with the love of God? Homosexuality is apart of nature and nature was created by GOD. So Manche' ypu are just a load of bulll....t. Go and bury your head in the sand, perhaps it will do you good.
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@JCC kindly let me know if the writings of Aristotle, Plato and other great Greek philosphers are fakes. What else do you know about the scriptures? Please enlighten us. This is higly entertaining!
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@ Herman M - Where trollface copied that extract from is totally irrelevant. What it shows is that the story surrounding the birth of Christ is merely a carbon copy of other stories - pure and simple. It is not a story of fact but one intended to highlight the belief that Christ was special. I say belief not fact. Many of the books in the Roman Catholic Scriptures are forgeries, pretending to be written by apostles when they were not. I specifically have in mind the four Gospels and some letters of Paul. Maathew, Mark, Luke and John did not write the four gospels.
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@trollface I don't think it's a good idea to copy and paste whatever you read on the internet. I know from which website all this was copied from. I think you are intelligent enough to realise that most scholars, biblical and non-biblical have refuted all these latter day inventions regarding these deities. Even if you search wikipedia these claims are not even mentioned! May the Lord Jesus or Addis or Horus help you in your future intelligent research.
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I belong to no group. I despise all organised religions for their past and present corruption, therefore do not subscribe, or fall victim to their indoctrinations. I do not have any anti homophobis tendencies or opinions. Live and let live. And I really can't accept the existence of of a non-physical, supernatural being in the sky. That's few "I's" to be dealing with.
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@ Dear Wenzu, statements like "Who do I identify myself with? Why the tooth fairy of course. It's all from the family similar fantasies" are inappropriate in this context and are no base to develop a proper argument. Nowhere did I read that he has a hotline with Christ but everyone has a right to his/her interpretation just like you have. For many it's very convenient to write comments via internet to attack the Christian Faith in support of minority groups. But be careful. This does not advance their voice but merely creates more enemies. May I ask you what you have done in actual fact to promote their case? I have no problem in telling you that I am a Catholic, but also very critical of its institution (with emphasis about Malta) but also a supporter of minority groups. In 2001 I was one of a handful of people to organize the first Malta Conference on Homosexuality: Challenging the Stigma which also was written up as a book. Some liberal, mostly sociology, scholars attacked the initiative but it was a success because we included priests like Rene Camilleri to give presentations but also gay psychologists from the UK. Ironically, it was the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists which organized the event and which is implied in the article (Yes I read that). I am sure the MGRM will tell you about it. In Malta, people think that you cannot be catholic and support minority groups. That is why I've disengaged from the little Island. Believe me, the Catholic Church does a lot of good...but the model you have in Malta is certainly not always a good witness and I do not blame people like you taking that attitude. You ask me about evidence. This is not the right portal for a scholarly debate but I will happily refer you the Faraday Institute at the University of Cambridge which I have engaged with for the last couple of years and is ONE of many debating societies amongst eminent scientists who debate the relationship between science and faith (NOTE: NOT RELIGION EVEN THOUGH IT HAS RELIGION AS A TITLE) and invite you to explore it with an open mind. Here is the link: http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/index.php. Enjoy.
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@vcas1 READ the article, it is the wierdo whoclaims he has a hotline to Christ. Who do I identify myself with? Why the tooth fairy of course. It's all from the family similar fantasies. BTW, if YOU have evidence of the historical existence of Christ, You should publish it.
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Weirdos like Manché, outright charlatans like Angelik Caruana and the "official" church may look very different at first glance, but in reality they are all cut from the same cloth. "Pezza waħda", ngħidu bil-Malti. They all peddle the same age-old superstitious nonsense which had a use once but now serves only to keep people docile and in ignorance.
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@Wenzu: This guy is a weirdo but I cannot see the point of your contesting the existence of Jesus. With all due respect, what have the two got to do with each other? This guy accepts people as he wants them to be...but Christ accepted everyone as he is. Now, with whom do you identify yourself best with?
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HORUS: Horus was born on December 25th Born of the virgin His birth was accompanied by a star in the east Three kings followed to locate and adorn the new-born savior At the age of 12, he was a prodigal child teacher And at the age of 30, he was baptized and thus began his ministry Horus had 12 disciples Performed miracles such as healing the sick and walking on water Horus was known by many gestural names such as The Truth, The Light, God’s Anointed Son, The Good Shepherd, The Lamb of God, After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, Buried for 3 days and Thus, resurrected. ATTIS: Born of the virgin On December 25th, Crucified, Placed in a tomb And after 3 days, was resurrected. KRISHNA: Born of the virgin With a star in the east signaling his coming Performed miracles with his disciples And upon his death was resurrected. DIONYSUS born of a virgin on December 25th was a traveling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine he was referred to as the “King of Kings,” “God’s Only Begotten Son,” “The Alpha and Omega,” and many others and upon his death, he was resurrected. MITHRA: Born of a virgin On December 25th He had 12 disciples And performed miracles And upon his death was buried for 3 days And thus resurrected He was also referred to as “The Truth,” “The Light” Interestingly, the sacred day of worship of Mithra was Sunday. COINCIDENCE?? I think not.
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An evangelist within something stuck in his earhole....
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Of course Christ existed. He spoke to Monsignor Mario Grech ... on the hotline. And Benedict XVI met hom on the gondola. Someone should have turned it upside down.
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TV evangelist Gordon-John Manché sparked a furore with his claims that homosexuals can be ‘cured’ if they ‘give their lives to Christ----- Assuming, of course, he can prove that Christ ever existed. As yet NOBODY else, in 2k years has managed this proof.