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NORTH CANTON, Ohio, March 29, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic university in north-eastern Ohio is fighting back against LGBT bullying after reports emerged claiming that the university had banned actor Daniel Franzese from performing at the school because he was a homosexual.

In a video uploaded to YouTube on March 18, Franzese claimed that “today I was fired from Walsh University, in Ohio, for being gay.”

Founded in 1960, Walsh University is an independent Catholic institution, with the purpose of teaching students to “to act in accordance with reason guided by the example and teachings of Jesus Christ.”

Franzese revealed that he had been invited to host the university’s March 26 “Mr. Walsh” pageant, described by the university as “a student talent competition featuring Walsh’s finest gentlemen representing their student organizations.”

Reading from an email, which he said was from the university’s student activities director, Franzese described how the contract for his appearance was rejected. The decision was, he said, “clearly based on personal beliefs of the higher administration.”

As a result, Franzese declared that the recent ruling by the Vatican banning same-sex blessings was being “weaponized” against him. He learnt that he would not be appearing at Walsh shortly after the Vatican document was issued.

Bemoaning his loss of income, and noting how he had been planning on performing for “practically half my rate,” Franzese stated that “LGBTQ people losing the ability to merely just exist on stage hurts as whole.”

“When does it end?” he continued. “This is a sad example about how tax-exempt institutions are using their own beliefs and the unfair religious freedom protection act … and it could cause a ripple effect of discrimination and bigotry to further alienate and harm LGBTQ people and our livelihoods.”

Franzese’s attack on the university has since been succinctly and thoroughly rejected by the institution’s president, Dr. Tim Collins.

In a March 19 email seen by LifeSiteNews, Collins wrote that “our country is suffering mightily from a Crisis of Convictions — on nearly any issue we seem drawn only to the loudest voice.”

The timing of canceling Franzese’s appearance was attributed to a breakdown in the university’s own vetting procedures which had lasted until “earlier this week,” he argued.

“Our process broke down, folks,” wrote the president, explaining that Franzese had been approached before the internal approval for his appearance had been granted.

Had that process been completed as normal, it would have shown that Franzese’s work was not in line with the university standards.

“Mr. Franzese’s professional content does not meet our standards,” wrote Collins. “Here are three exemplars of his public podcast titles … ‘Episode 131: Jesus is the OG Zombie,’ ‘Episode 135: Can You Thank God for a Good Blowjob?’ ‘Episode 208: Penises Everywhere.”

“Thus, on the basis of public content that does not align with either Walsh University core values or our shared University mission, the decision was justly made to not sign a draft contract and had nothing to do with Mr. Franzese as a person,” continued Collins.

Franzese’s podcast is entitled “YassJesus,” and is billed as “a faith and sexuality affirming podcast that believes you don’t have to pick between gay and God.” Franzese describes himself as a “Christ-loving member of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

But a further aspect formed the basis of the university’s decision: Despite Franzese praising himself for being willing to appear for about half his normal fee, Collins revealed that Franzese requested “$4,000 plus expenses, for about an hour-long performance” — an amount which the university was “unwilling to pay.”

Collins, who was appointed president in August 2019, rejected the claim that the university was waging a war of discrimination against the promoters of LGBT ideology. Instead, he said, the university was simply adhering to its advertised mission: “Upon arrival at Walsh University, no one is asked to surrender who they are … we simply ask all to take on the cloak of our core values of faith, excellence, integrity, service, and community as we relentlessly pursue our mission to build men and women in service to others in the Judeo-Christian tradition.”

He called for a return to “truth” instead of allowing “streaming or screaming on social media” to form the accepted narrative.

The letter did not go unnoticed, and Franzese responded again, still attributing the university’s decision to his homosexual lifestyle, and blaming the Vatican once more for its ban on same-sex blessings: “This whole situation is a mess. This is what happens when the Vatican drops a bomb like this without explanation.”

He alleged that a number of students had approached him, claiming that the university made them feel “unwelcomed.”

LifeSiteNews reached out to Collins, but the university declined to comment.

Another private Catholic institution, the University of Dallas, has also recently come under fire from the homosexual lobby. A former student of the university, a man who know believes himself to be a woman, attacked the university, demanding that one of the professors be removed from his position after he made biologically correct comments about Joe Biden’s Assistant Secretary of Health, “Rachel” (Richard) Levine.

The university’s president Thomas Hibbs and provost Jonathan Sanford were firm in their defense of their colleague, Professor David Ulpham. They declared that the university was acting in accord with its policies and “will not yield to internal or external demands to divert from them.”

“If anyone is wondering whether we uphold Catholic teaching, we do. Our Catholic identity and fidelity to its teachings is at the core of our mission,” continued the letter.