Comedian Bob Newhart booked for anti-LGBT Catholic conference

Comedy legend Bob Newhart is scheduled to appear at a conference organized by a Catholic magazine that promotes the idea that homosexuality is a disease.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) entreated Newhart on Thursday to not "become the next Kirk Cameron" and appear at the "Legatus Summit" in February 2014 in Orlando, Florida, noting that other guests include former Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and Catholic League president Bill Donohue, both vocal opponents of marriage equality and other LGBT community rights. Advertising for Newhart's appearance bills him as a "legendary Catholic."

GLAAD consultant Jeremy Hooper reported that the magazine, which promotes itself as "a membership organization for top-ranking Catholic business leaders," listed opposition to marriage equality as a "non-negotiable" item in a guide to voters prior to the November 2012 elections, exhorting readers to support candidates who "who promote policies in keeping with moral law."

The magazine also published an August 2013 speech by Rev. John Nienstedt, an archbishop for two churches in the Minneapolis area, blaming the state's legalization of marriage equality on the Devil.

"The source of these machinations is none other than the Father of Lies," Nienstedt wrote. "Satan knows all too well the value that the family contributes to the fabric of a good solid society, as well as the future of God's work on earth."

[Image via Bob Newhart Facebook fan page]

[h/t Billerico]