South Africa: Anglican bishops declare gay‚ lesbian couples 'full members' of the church

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said new guidelines from bishops which oppose gay congregants being stigmatised and which facilitate the baptisms of children from same-sex unions‚ are “an important first step” towards acceptance of the lesbian‚ gay and transsexual community in Southern Africa.

This comes as Anglican bishops from across southern Africa have resolved that gay and lesbian partners who enter same-sex civil unions under South African law should be welcomed into congregations as full members of the church. Archbishop Makgoba acknowledged that southern Africa’s bishops were divided over whether to marry same-sex couples in church‚ or to allow clergy to enter same-sex civil unions. As a consequence they would continue to be bound by the broad consensus in the Anglican Communion‚ which is that the church can neither bless same-sex unions nor permit its clergy to enter them.

He said the differences among the bishops were both over the theology of marriage and a result of realities on the ground in different dioceses. “For example‚ most of our dioceses across Southern Africa are predominantly rural‚ and for many the urgent priorities of food security‚ shelter‚ health care and education crowd out debate on the issue of human sexuality. In some rural dioceses‚ responding to challenges to the Church’s restrictions on polygamous marriages is a much higher pastoral priority.” Read more via Sowetan live 

Malta: Prime Minister 'immensely disappointed' by Church committee report on conversion therapy for gay people

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he was immensely disappointed by comments by the committee which advised the Church on conversion therapy for gay people. It was unbelievable, he said, that in this day and age, some people thought that sexual orientation was something that could be healed by medication and therapy.

This was an offence to the gay community and all those who wanted to live in a European society which respected the people's freedom. It was a similar offence to link homosexuality with child abuse. 

Dr Muscat said he would defend the right of the Church to speak out, but the government would carry on with its legislation against such conversion therapy. He could never accept a situation where any Maltese was called a sick or a pedophile because of a particular sexual orientation.  Read more via Times of Malta

Jamaica: Church group contesting anti-buggery case

Several churches and religious groups have filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to oppose the claim brought by attorney-at-law and gay rights activist Maurice Tomlinson who is challenging the buggery law. The groups contend that decriminalising sodomy in Jamaica will lead to gay marriages and the promotion of homosexuality. They also say it will among other things violate their rights to campaign against homosexuality. 

Tomlinson filed a constitutional motion against the Attorney General last year after Javed Jaghai, a gay rights activist withdrew his challenge against  the buggery law because of threats.

Tomlinson is seeking to have the anti-sodomy law nullified in relation to all cases of adult consensual sex which attracts convictions and prison terms. He also claims that criminalising homosexuality amounts to a direct and blatant denial of equality before the law for him and other gay men.  Read more via Jamaican Gleaner

Indonesia: Religious leaders soften stance on LGBTs

Amid growing pressure from Muslim clerics to seek harsher punishment for members of the LGBT community, an interfaith forum has agreed to take a more humane approach, defying the Indonesian Ulema Council’s (MUI) calls for prosecution of the minority group. The group, however, said that the religiously devout should only embrace members of the LGBT community in order to “reform” them.

Religious leaders representing Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism and Confucianism held a meeting at the MUI headquarters to issue a joint statement on the LGBT issue, in which they concluded that a peaceful approach was the only way to deal with members of the LGBT community before they could turn to faith to be cured. 

Despite endorsing the interfaith agreement, the MUI maintained its official stance demanding the prosecution of LGBT people, which the organization announced in an edict issued on Wednesday. Read more via Jakarta Post

UK: The gay teacher transforming a Muslim school

It took one complaint from a parent “as a Christian” to undo all Andrew Moffat’s work teaching children respect for people of different sexual orientation. A meeting of 40 parents followed with calls for an apology. Above all, the parents objected that he had told children he was gay. Moffat felt he could no longer continue and resigned. Far from retreating to a safe haven, however, he crossed Birmingham to take up an even greater challenge: assistant headteacher at Parkfield Community school, where 98.9% of pupils are from Muslim families.

That was two years ago. With the backing of the headteacher, Moffat went on to introduce a No Outsiders policy promoting diversity at the 770-pupil school, where 23 nationalities are represented. That includes welcoming people of any race, colour or religion and those who are LGBT.

A gay teacher teaching gay rights to pupils from a faith that believes homosexuality is a sin, punishable by death in some countries? It doesn’t seem possible and yet the school’s Muslim parents appear to have accepted that children can be taught about Britain’s anti-discrimination laws without undermining their religious beliefs. Learning from his unhappy experience at his previous school, Moffat has been careful to centre the policy around the Equality Act 2010, to first gain the support of the governing body, and to keep parents fully informed, inviting them in to see the books that would be used.  Read more via the Guardian

Criticised for rejecting same-sex marriage, but is the Anglican church actually helping gay rights?

At their recent meeting, the Anglican church leaders did indeed decide to suspend the episcopal church for its “fundamental departure” from the faith. It’s also true that the decision has come as a result of pressure from more conservative church leaders – not at least those from a range of African countries. But one part of the official statement that came out of this meeting has gone largely unnoticed – and that’s the section in which the church leaders “reaffirmed their rejection of criminal sanctions against same-sex attracted people”.

This statement is surprising. Many of the leaders come from countries in which same-sex practices are illegal – particularly those who sought sanctions on the US church. Gay men and women face being ostracised and even imprisoned in countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Nigeria and Rwanda – all of which were represented at the meeting. The Anglican churches in Uganda and Nigeria have even supported introducing new, fiercer anti-homosexual legislation in their countries.

They could do so without facing any “consequences” for their role in the Anglican Communion, while the US church is now being sanctioned for its support for, and blessing of, loving relationships between people of the same sex. Read more via the Conversation

The Pope and head of the Russian Orthodox Church release statement against gay marriage

The Pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church have released a joint statement condemning same-sex marriage. The statement, consisting of 30 points, holds wide-reaching significance for Catholics and followers of the Orthodox Church. The main message of the statement seems to be the reconciliation of the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

In a similar vein to many statements made by the churches, the “family” was high on the agenda. One point calls family the “natural center of human life and society”, but they say they are “concerned about the crisis in the family in many countries”. They then say that “the family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman.”

The Pope and the Patriarch are apparently worried that the “biblical tradition, of paternity and maternity as the distinct vocation of man and woman in marriage is being banished from the public conscience.” Read more via PinkNews 

US: Religious Freedom Act cost Indy up to 12 conventions and $60M

The furor surrounding last year's Religious Freedom Restoration Act might have cost the city of Indianapolis as many as 12 conventions and up to $60 million in economic impact, the city's nonprofit tourism arm confirmed Monday evening.

Though they come with some caveats, the numbers from Visit Indy represent the most tangible effects yet of a controversy that city officials and business leaders long warned would cause real damage to Indianapolis' reputation. When Gov. Mike Pence signed RFRA into law last March, it was met with fierce backlash from civil rights groups across the country, who worried that it would allow Hoosiers to discriminate against LGBT people on the basis of religion. Days later, a so-called "fix" was signed into law to clarify that the state law was not intended to override local civil rights protections.

"It’s baffling how delusional Mike Pence is on his claim that there’s no direct correlation between LGBT rights and the Hoosier economy," Drew Anderson, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party, said in a statement. "In fact, Pence’s out-of-touch ideology comes from an ideologue — not a governor. When he signed RFRA last year, Mike Pence threw Indiana directly into a $250 million economic panic, including Indianapolis’ $60 million.” Read more via Indy Star  

UK: What I learned on my rocky road to coming out as gay to my Sikh family

I was born into a traditional, conservative Sikh family, where neither of my parents spoke English very well. My home was troubled. I discovered my sexuality at the age of 11 and at first I did not know what it was. I was afraid everyday due to the arguing and thought I would be disowned.

I almost ran away from home. The arguments, the pain, the guilt and shame were overwhelming. I lived abroad for many years, working for human rights organizations. In the end, my coming out to my parents over text message was the easiest coming out story imaginable. They were relieved their son was talking to them properly, he loved them and was only away due to his own shame and guilt. They said they would provide for me and love me no matter what. Such a shock to me!

The crux of my work is to empower, inspire and educate South Asian LGBTIs to be able to have an easier coming out process whilst living the life they always dreamed of. I do this through the principles of the law of attraction. Love and forgiveness are key ingredients along with gratitude and prayer.  Read more via Gay Star News

US: A fresh gay face is shaking things up in evangelical land

When Matthew Vines burst onto the evangelical scene in 2012, he could have become another one-hit wonder of viral videos. A YouTube video of the 21-year-old outlining a scriptural defense of monogamous, Christ-centered same-sex relationships showed up on LGBT blogs and Facebook timelines all over.

Since then, he has established The Reformation Project, an organization aimed to change Christians minds on same-sex relationships, and he's published God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. Three years later, Vines is an emerging voice in Christian conversations on the intersections of faith, gender, and sexuality.

When I met Vines in the beginning of this venture with The Reformation Project, he was eager, albeit a bit naïve. He wanted to change the world equipped only with theology that affirmed same-sex relationships: “In 10-15 years, I want to change 2 billion Christians' minds on same-sex relationships,” I once heard him say. While his goals haven’t changed, the timeline has — and so have his methods. Read more via the Advocate 

Pope Francis sends mixed signals on civil unions for gay couples

Last weekend, tens of thousands of Italians took to at least 100 piazzas up and down the country to demonstrate their support for a measure currently before the Italian parliament, and backed by the governing center-left majority, to provide civil unions for same-sex couples along with full adoption rights.

On Saturday, another wave of demonstrators flooded Rome’s Circus Maximus to oppose that measure, in a rally known as Family Day. It was originally set for the square outside St. John Lateran, for centuries the seat of the papacy, but organizers say they were forced to relocate due to the high number of people planning to take part.

This is Italy, so from the beginning of the ferment, one question above all has loomed over the debate: “Where does Pope Francis stand?” Early on, it seemed plausible Francis might just sit this one out.   Read more via The Crux 

US: Unraveling the truth behind gay mormon youth and suicide

While there are conflicting reports regarding numerous suicides involving LGBT Mormon youth, there's no question that there's been an increase of suicidal teens and twenty-somethings following the Church's new antigay policy. Instituted in November, the new rules label any Mormon in a same-sex marriage as an "apostate," which could include excommunication from the church, and bars children of all same-sex couples from being baptized. 

Three months on, the mental effect on Mormon youth is becoming clearer. "Therapists have seen an uptick in clients who reported suicidal thoughts," the Salt Lake Tribune reported recently. "Activists have been bombarded with grief-stricken family members seeking comfort and counsel."

But many say the repercussions from November are much more serious. Wendy Montgomery, co-founder of Mama Dragons — a supportive group of Mormon women with LGBT children — says nearly three dozen queer and questioning youth have taken their lives since the new rules went into effect. Montgomery has been told 32 young Mormons have committed suicide recently, reports the Deseret News.  Read more via the Advocate