I am delighted to be able to offer not just a summary, but the full text of the L’Espresso article on Cardinal Martini’s book with its support for gay partnerships. (The translation is not my own, but kindly done for…
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Gay Marriage: Listen to your head and heart, not the Bishops’ bluff and bluster
(Reader Chris Morley has sent me by email extensive links and useful thoughts on the British bishops and gay marriage. When I suggested that he might write them up himelf, he took up the suggestion, and sent this useful contribution,…
A Royal, Same – Sex Church “Marriage”, in Seventeenth Century England.
Amidst the hysteria over the “redefinition” of marriage, we should remember that in fact, redefinition of marriage and its terminology have been a constant feature of social and theological history. As one thought – provoking illustration, I offer you an…
Valentine’s Day: Same Sex Lovers in Church History
For St Valentine’s day,we should remember the same sex lovers (a surprising number of them) who feature in Scripture and in the history of the Catholic Church. In the list below, I do not not claim that the relationships were…
Give Thanks for Archbishop Nichols’ Balanced, Sane Response to British Gay Marriage.
The British don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but Catholics in England and Wales have good cause this week to give thanks all the same, this week. The head of the Catholic Church here, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has responded to the planned introduction…
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…
“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…
Sergius & Bacchus, 7th October: Patron Saints of Same Sex Lovers?
Sergius and Bacchus are by a long way the best known of the so-called gay or lesbian saints – unless we include as “saints” the biblical pairs David and Jonathan, and Ruth and Naomi. We need to be careful with…
How a Woman Became a Dominican Priest, and Teacher of Moral Theology.
So: just how does a woman become a Catholic priest in a major religious order? Sally Gross did just that: her story, with the explanation of just how it was possible, reveals some gaping holes in Catholic theology on women’s…