Rights activists have condemned a former Catholic parliamentarian and candidate for Sri Lanka’s Aug. 5 parliamentary election for his comments on the LGBT community. In an online interview on July 27, Kavinda Jayawardana said he is a Catholic and the Church strongly condemns homosexuality. He said homosexuality is a mental disorder and he does not support the rights of the LGBT community, adding that there is no evidence that homosexuality has ever existed in Sri Lankan culture. “Openly talking about these things is what leads to children seeing these things and behaving badly,” he said. “Read our historical documents. This dirt didn’t exist in our history. This has happened due to the opening up of our world. We have become open to these mental disorders.”