It is estimated that 1,000 people in Britain and Ireland are the children of Catholic priests Three common Irish surnames translate as ‘son of the priest’, ‘son of the Bishop’ and ‘son of the Abbot’. -Bishop Pat Buckley, quoted in…
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Of Priests, Prostitutes - and Murder Most Foul.
In March last year, a Catholic Priest, Fr Lionel Sham, was murdered in South Africa. With 34 murders per 100 000 population, the country has the highest murder rate anywhere outside Latin America (but this is thankfully, now on the…
Mexico City: 3 out of 3 for Family Equality.
Earlier today, the Mexican Supreme Court voted for the third time to confirm family equality for Mexico City. The latest ruling, which confirmed that the city’s gay marriage legislation also provides for the right to adopt children, followed a crucial…
“Unnatural” Nature, Immoral Butterflies: The Great Cover-Up of Animal Homosexuality
Back in 2000, an eminent and otherwise respectable biologist declared that except for a few instances observed among primates, there was no evidence of homosexuality among animals: When animals have access to the opposite sex, homosexuality is virtually unknown in…
“Gay-Friendly” Alaskan Bishop to be Ordained in Catholic Church.
In yet another sign of progress to full queer inclusion in Church, next month the Episcopal church will install as bishop of Alaska a man with strong commitment to LGBT ministry. Mark Lattime , who was elected back in April,…
Sr Jeannine Grammick in Dallas, on Ratzinger: “Not that order of teaching”.
Sr Jeannine Gramick has been working tirelessly for LGBT ministry in the Catholic Church since 1971, when a young man asked here in a now famous conversation, “Sister, what is the Catholic Church doing for gays and lesbians?”. Realizing that…
Pope Benedict (IX) and “Homosexual Orgies in the Lateran Palace”.
A few days ago, there were several breathless reports that Mel Gibson’s father had claimed that Pope Benedict XVI, along with half the Vatican, were “homosexuals”. It turned out though, that these were old claims, made in a January radio…
Yet Another Court Victory for Gay Marriage, Family Equality:Costa Rica.
In barely a week, there have been four important court judgements in three American countries that represent important victories for gay marriage and family equality. Immediately after the celebrated judgement in California striking down Proposition 8, the Mexican court ruled…
Women Priests and Apostolic Succession
Last week, I wrote two posts which contrasted women priests in San Diego, where a priest was ordained by the congregation, and in Florida, where the priest had been previously ordained by a bishop of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement.…
The Queer Lesson of Nehemiah: “Rebuild God’s Church!”
Through the fog of millenia, foreign language, and unfamiliar cultural contexts, it is easy for Christians in the twenty first century to miss the specific relevance of some passages in Scripture, especially the books of the “minor prophets” in the…
