Oscar nominated star pulls out of anti-gay group summit

Hollywood star Gary Sinise has dropped out of a scheduled appearance at an anti-gay Catholic group’s conference.

Sinise, who’s known for his roles in CSI: NY, Apollo 13 and Forest Gump, was set to speak at the Legatus two-day summit at the end of the month in Florida.

Legatus was founded by former Domino’s Pizza CEO, Thomas Monaghan, as an exclusive members-only organisation for Roman Catholic business executives.

It’s been criticised for stating in its magazine that homosexuality is a “disorder.” It has also urged its high-powered members to not support or fund politicians who back marriage equality or LGBT rights and promotes “treatment” to have gay people’s “sexual drives properly ordered.”

According to Legatus, homosexuality “leaves an individual disposed toward activities and a lifestyle that are dangerous — physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

In a statement, Sinise, who was inspired to convert to Catholicism by his wife, said that when he accepted the invitation he was unaware of “the controversy surrounding some of the participants, and their views on personal matters.”

He explained that, “I don’t want my mission — which is designed to be unifying — to be disrupted by these, or any controversies, and therefore have decided to withdraw.”

Other speakers listed on the group’s website as participating in the upcoming summit include Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, and Bret Baier, Chief Political Anchor for Fox News.