Monthly Archives: October 2011
New book offers insights on lesbian and gay adoptive families There have been a number of studies over the past 25 years on lesbian and gay parents and their children, but few have looked specifically at lesbian and gay adoptive…
LGBT History Month: Queer Icons, in Faith - Jesus Christ.
I do not suggest, as some do, that Jesus was in any sense “gay” - although there is at least some evidence in scripture that he had a relationship that was at least emotionally interest with the beloved disciple, and…
LGBT Clergy: Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Open Letter to PCUSA
Last Saturday, the Presbyterian Church re-ordained , the first openly gay or lesbian pastor to be ordained since the PCUSA formally removed the absolute prohibition on partnered, non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy. To mark the occasion, Archbishop emeritus…
“Alfredo’s Fire”: The Self- Martyrdom of Alfredo Ormando
In January 1998 Alfredo Ormando, an Italian writer, set himself on fire in St Peter’s Square in the heart of the Vatican. Ormando was Catholic, and gay. In Catholic hagiography, the most famous image of a martyr burned at the stake…
“Love in Action”: Ex-ex-gay John Smid’s Journey of Grace to Coming Out
This past Tuesday, was “Coming Out Day”. One notable example of someone who came out publicly was John Smid, the former director of the ex-gay program ”Love in Action”. Writing at the website for his new ministry, Grace Rivers, he publicly…
Episcopal Church Leader Backs Scottish Government on Gay Marriage
The Catholic bishops’ claim that marriage equality is an attack on the church has been directly contradicted - by the Scottish Episcopal church. Writing in The Scotsman, the Most Rev David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Bishop of…
LGBT History Month, in Faith: The Jewish Scriptures
Before we can begin to consider the place of sexual minorities in specifically Christian history, we need to reflect on the Jewish history that preceded it, and on the broader cultural context of the Mediterranean world in Biblical times. The…
Elton John: There’s a Global War Against the Right of Gay People to Live and Love. We Need to Fight Back
There’s a Global War Against the Right of Gay People to Live and Love. We Need to Fight Back. There has been a strange hole in Western gay politics — until now. We have, understandably, been focused on our own…
James Alison’s Message to Gay Catholics: Be the Best That You Are
The British-born Alison, a member of the clergy since age 18, began by addressing the history of homosexuality in Europe and how it was viewed in the church, then moved into a discussion of contemporary debate on the issue. He…
