Robertson first made his appeal to the Bishops in 2005, when the International Day Against Homophobia was launched to commemorate the removal of homosexuality from the General Assembly of the World Health Organization(WHO)list of mental disorders on 17 May.

The activist said that he was encouraged to continue his campaign following a visit to his old school, St Joseph's Christian Brothers College in Geelong during 2007 where he was able to address a Year 12 group of students who had just completed a unit of study on homophobia.

“It was encouraging to speak to young students as a gay man in a safe environment," he said.

“Sharing my experience as a young gay man in a very different era at the college gave me an insight into the important role of mentoring that gay and lesbian Catholics can provide in our Church Community."

However, Robertson said he is also aware that homophobia continues to appear in much of the conversation about sexuality in the Church.

“The inclusion of the International Day Against Homophobia in Church calendars will send a clear message to those in the Church who fail to understand that the dignity of the human person is a core Catholic teaching which challenges homophobia in our community," he said.

Robertson has also called upon Australian Catholic Bishops to ignore a renewed call from the Vatican to ban gay applicants for the priesthood.

Robertson said the May 19 letter was “offensive not only in its content, but also in its publication within a week of the International Day Against Homophobia on May 17”.

“Will the Congregation for Catholic Education also issue a letter about the suitability of candidates who display deep-seated racist tendencies or misogynist tendencies?

“It's all very silly as we have been ordaining and consecrating gay men throughout the history of the Church,” Robertson said. 

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