Vatican: Children need heterosexual parents, says pope after gay pride march

Pope Francis stressed the importance of children having heterosexual parents, just a day after Rome’s gay pride march demonstrated the changing attitudes about same-sex couples outside the Vatican walls. Addressing around 25,000 followers from the Diocese of Rome, the pope said the differences between men and women are fundamental and “an integral part of being human.”

The pontiff likened a long-lasting marriage to a good wine, in which a husband and wife make the most of their gender differences.

“They’re not scared of the differences!” the pope said. “What great richness this diversity is, a diversity which becomes complementary, but also reciprocal. It binds them, one to the other.” Heterosexual marriages not only ensured couples’ happiness, the pontiff said, but were essential for good parenting. Read More 

Iran: Bishop ​Leo Boccardi, the Holy See Ambassador to Iran seeks interfaith response to gay marriage

Bishop eo Boccardi, the Holy See Ambassador to Iran says that he would like to see an interfaith solution to  problems such as the legalization of gay marriage in Ireland. The Apostolic Nuncio to Ira made his comments during a meeting with Ayatollah Hosseini Boushehri, the President of Iran's Seminary Schools.  

Boccardi is quoted saying, "A referendum in Ireland took place that legalizes marriage between two men. Now what should we do and how can we respond to this?... My hope is that religions can start a dialogue among themselves and keep close contacts to address problems of this sort."

When asked by his host about the reason for the lack of a strong response from the Vatican against the spread of homosexuality, he said, "In today's societies, secularism is institutionalized and the separation of church and state has made religion a personal choice... Over the past 50 years, a trend has been growing that distinguishes between morality and faith, allowing the people of faith to commit immoral acts." Read More

Vatican says Ireland gay marriage vote is 'defeat for humanity'

A senior Vatican official has attacked the legalisation of gay marriage in Ireland.  “I was deeply saddened by the result,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state. “The church must take account of this reality, but in the sense that it must strengthen its commitment to evangelisation. I think that you cannot just talk of a defeat for Christian principles, but of a defeat for humanity.” 

The remarks by the Vatican’s top diplomat, who is seen as second only to the pope in the church’s hierarchy, represent the most damning assessment of the Irish vote by a senior church official to date.

It was a far more critical response than the circumspect reaction offered by archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, who said: “It is very clear that if this referendum is an affirmation of the views of young people … [then the church needs] a reality check.” 

While the results were celebrated by advocates of gay rights in Ireland and around the world, it was also seen as a stark symbol of how wide the chasm has grown between young people in what has traditionally been a staunchly Catholic country and the church itself, which says that homosexual acts are a sin and vehemently opposes gay marriage. Read More

US: North Carolina allows officials to refuse to perform gay marriages

North Carolina House of Representatives overrode Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto of a new bill that allows magistrates to refuse to marry any couple if they have a “sincerely held religious objection.” The Senate already overrode the veto, meaning the bill is now law. In addition to exempting magistrates, the measure permits registers of deeds to refuse to issue marriage licenses to any couple on religious grounds. From now on, a magistrate or register of deeds need only assert that serving a gay couple (or interracial couple, or interfaith couple) violates her religious beliefs. As soon as she does, she will be allowed to refuse to do her job.  Read More

Why anti-gay sentiment remains strong in much of Africa

This article is part of a series The Conversation Africa is running on issues related to LGBTI in Africa. You can read the rest of the series here.

Of the 76 countries that still criminalise same-sex relationships and behaviour, 38 are African. Recent surveys also show that the overwhelming majority of people who live in Africa strongly disapprove of homosexuality. This is even the case in South Africa, the only country on the continent that has legalised same-sex marriage.

Last month, socially conservative Ireland voted convincingly to legalise same-sex marriage. It became the first country where the people, as opposed to the courts or parliament, decided to legalise same-sex marriage. Ireland is now one of 20 countries globally that permit gay marriage. Fifteen years ago, such marriage was not legal anywhere in the world.

What the science is saying

Africa’s strong anti-homosexuality sentiment, harsh laws and active discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people warrant exploration. Read more

Russia: Police hold gay activists at unauthorised rally, including Pride parade organizer

Russian police held around half a dozen activists for attempting to stage an unauthorised gay pride rally in central Moscow, AFP journalists witnessed. Police officers detained the activists and loaded them into waiting vans as around 30 nationalist counter-demonstrators in camouflage clothing and football fans hurled eggs at the activists and attacked them.

Several religious counter-demonstrators were also detained by police as a large crowd of Russian and international journalists looked on.

"Arrested and beaten at 10th Moscow Pride. We are arrested! They probably broke my left hand finger," leading gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev wrote on Twitter, posting a photo of himself in detention. Alexeyev, a prominent LGBT activist and lawyer and main organizer of Saturday's gay pride parade in Moscow was sentenced to 10 days in jail for "disobeying police orders" by a city court Monday. Read More

Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers in civil partnerships

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has voted to allow congregations to ordain gay ministers who are in same sex civil partnerships.

Supporters said it was time for the church to be inclusive and recognise the "mixed economy" of modern Scotland. Opponents warned that the move was contrary to God's law, would prove divisive and lead to resignations. 

Outgoing Moderator Very Rev John Chalmers was to say: "We cannot go on suffering the pain of internal attacks which are designed to undermine the work or the place of others. It's time to play for the team. And let me be very clear here - I am not speaking to one side or another of the theological spectrum. I am speaking to both ends and middle. It is time to stop calling each other names, time to shun the idea that we should define ourselves by our differences and instead define ourselves by what we hold in common - our baptism into Christ, our dependence on God's grace, our will to serve the poor and so on."  Read More 

French Protestant church allows gay marriage blessing

France's United Protestant Church (EPUdF) voted to allow pastors to bless same-sex marriages, two years after Paris legalized gay nuptials amid protests backed by the majority Roman Catholic Church. The EPUdF, created in 2012 in a merger of France's Lutheran and Reformed churches, said its synod also agreed that individual pastors or parishes can decide whether or not they will organize such blessings.

"The synod has decided to take a step forward in accompanying people and these couples by opening the possibility of celebrating liturgical blessings if they want," said Laurent Schlumberger, president of the United Protestant Church.

Blessing or marrying same-sex couples has been a divisive issue in Protestant churches, with some liberal ones - such as those in Sweden and Denmark - fully approving gay weddings and others only offering a blessing service that is different than that for traditional marriage. Read More 

Ireland: Priests Defy Bishops To Support Marriage Equality

Father Martin Dolan faced a difficult decision. With Ireland’s referendum on marriage equality looming, he could either go along with his bishops’ official opposition to it, or he could be honest with his Dublin congregation. He made his choice during a Saturday evening mass in January. Not only did he urge his congregation to vote Yes on May 22, he also took the opportunity to come out as gay.

The worshipers greeted the revelation with a standing ovation. Dolan is one of at least 10 members of Catholic orders who have publicly endorsed marriage equality. Read More

Kenya: Dep. President says 'no room for gays' in country

Kenya's deputy president has said there is "no room" for homosexuality in the country’s society, the latest comments from an African government to anger activists and likely annoy Western donors. William Ruto made the remarks at a church service Sunday, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived for talks. 

"The Republic of Kenya is a republic that worships God. We have no room for gays," Ruto told a Nairobi church congregation in Swahili, according to an online video posted by Kenyan broadcaster KTN. Speaking to Reuters on Monday, Ruto's spokesman Emmanuel Talam confirmed the deputy president's remarks, adding: "The government believes that homosexual relations are unnatural and un-African." Read More

Latin America: Study finds many against gay marriage

A study called "Religion in Latin America" etermined that most of the religious population does not approve of same-sex marriage. The work was conducted by the polling Pew Research. The research aims clarify the positions of Latin American religiosity and Hispanics in the United States.

The survey captured the differences in perception between Catholic and Protestants on the continent as well as the breakdown by country.

Hispanics are less conservative than Latin Americans in terms of attitude and sexual and social behavior, with 46% support for equal marriage and only 34% opposed. Read More 

South African Court declares religion no excuse to discriminate

In a groundbreaking settlement the Equality Court in Cape Town has agreed that owners of a guesthouse cannot use their religious beliefs to turn away gay customers.

Neil Coulson and his husband Jonathan Sedgwick were denied accommodation in November 2013 by the House of Bread because their sexual orientation was in conflict with the owners’ Christian views. The men, who are Christians themselves, wanted to be in the area to be near their son who was going to attend a school camp. They were humiliatingly told that the venue was “not gay friendly.”

This week the case was finally settled in the Equality Court, with the owners apologising for their actions and promising to not discriminate against LGBT people in future, failing which they will be in contempt of court. Triangle Project, the Cape Town based LGBT rights group, applauded the settlement for “protecting LGBTI rights from religious discrimination.”  Read More