News - Gays & Christianity

Edinburgh Evening News - UK:

Gay attack is 'un-Christian' says Foulkes

14 March 2008

LOTHIANS Labour MSP George Foulkes has branded a Catholic bishop's comments "un-Christian".Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Devine caused controversy by claiming that the gay community had launched what he called a "conspiracy" against Christian tradition. The bishop added: "I saw actor Ian McKellen being honoured for his work on behalf of homosexuals, when a century ago Oscar Wilde was locked up and put in jail." Now Mr Foulkes has tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament expressing concern at "the hurt which will be caused to gay people, and gay Catholics in particular, by the unfortunate, outdated and un-Christian remarks of Bishop Devine".

Church Times

8 Feb 2008

Bishop Jones apologises for Reading-affair open letter
THE Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones, has had a Damascus-road experience about homosexuality.Writing in a new book, A Fallible Church, he describes how a close reading of the love between David and Jonathan, and between Christ and the beloved disciple, has changed his outlook. Bishop Jones was one of nine bishops who, in an open letter, denounced the appointment of the Revd Dr Jeffrey John as Area Bishop of Reading (News, 20 June 2003). The offer of the post was subsequently withdrawn. In a chapter in A Fallible Church, Bishop Jones writes: “I deeply regret this episode in our common life. I regret, too, having objected publicly without first having consulted the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, and subsequently apologised to them and to colleagues in a private meeting of the House of Bishops. “I still believe that it was unwise to try to take us to a place that evidently did not command the broad support of the Church of England, but I am sorry for the way I opposed it, and I am sorry, too, for adding to the pain and distress of Dr John and his partner. I regret, too, that this particular controversy narrowed rather than enlarged the space for healthy debate.” The notion of space for debate is central to Bishop Jones’s essay. He describes a formal consultation between Liverpool and its two linked dioceses, Virginia in the United States and Akure in Nigeria. Two years of exchanges, and two conferences, between people “whose mutual trust and affection [prompt them] to think the best and not the worst of each other”, have given him “a deeper and more affectionate understanding” of their cultures. The dialogue, he says, has taken place between four “walls”: to recognise the biblical emphasis on the uniqueness of marriage as a divine ordinance; to acknowledge the biblical examples of love between two people of the same gender; to register the central place of conscience in the Anglican tradition; and to understand that disunity saps the energy of the Church. Bishop Jones severely criticises the press for its desire to “polarise the debate into simply two clear-cut oppositional positions”. He goes on: “This is not to deny that in the end an ethical decision has to be taken. What it recognises is that there needs to be more space along the way for people to view the terrain from different vantage points.” For Americans, this means that homosexuality is set in the context of civil rights. For Nigerians, its acceptance would allow Islamic critics “to portray the Church as compromised, weak, and in moral decline. These are serious missiological issues which need to be recognised and addressed.” Bishop Jones says that his change of understanding came through his study of David and Jonathan. It was spiritual, physical, and covenantal. He declines to consider whether the relationship was sexual: “Immediately you start using such words you conjure up stereotypes and prejudices. . . Is it not possible to say that here are two men with the capacity to love fully, both women and men?” Again, he cites the gospel accounts of Christ’s relationship with John, which describe the disciple “leaning against the bosom, breast, chest of Jesus. . . Here is energising love, spiritual, emotional, and physical.” Bishop Jones compares the present controversy in Anglicanism to the dispute in the Early Church about circumcision. Even though a section of the Church argued that circumcision was necessary for salvation, undermining the doctrine of justification through faith, St Luke refers to them as “believers”. “It is clear that controversy can impair friendship, can affect ministry, and even undermine mission, but only Christ can determine communion.”

Is Dobson's Political Clout Fading?

TIME

24 Jan 2008

The founder of the Colorado Springs-based organization may have reason to be concerned about his influence. At the age of 71 and semi-retired from the day-to-day operations of his organization, Dobson is seeing Focus on the Family's fortunes wane — CEO Jim Daly describes them as "flat" — perhaps an inevitability for a ministry pegged to one towering figure. The ministry's expenses have exceeded its revenues for two years — what Daly calls a "drawdown from reserves" — by $4.1 million in fiscal year 2006 and by $9.9 million in 2005. (Figures for 2007 have not yet been released.) The ministry apparently has been "flat" for some time. For example, in 1994 Dobson's monthly newsletter had a circulation of 2.4 million copies. Today, that circulation is about 1.1 million. Also, in the 1990s, Dobson was drawing audiences of 15,000 or more to his speeches; but in the lead-up to the 2006 mid-term election, only about 1,000 people heard his anti-abortion speech at the 2,500-seat Mt. Rushmore National Monument amphitheatre. Daly explains that the event was a last-minute invitation and that Dobson rarely accepts speaking engagements. According to news accounts and audited financial reports posted online for potential donors, the organization's staffing is down (30 layoffs last September). Total donations and number of donors are down as well. Focus orders and resells copies of Dobson's tapes and books, which are the evangelist's personal business; but those purchases have declined from $678,000 in 2004 to $269,000 in 2006. His last book was published in 2001; another is not anticipated until 2009. The whole Dobson family, including wife Shirley, daughter Danae and son Ryan, produce books and tapes, but revenue from all Dobson-family materials are down, from $781,000 in 2004 to $307,000 in 2006.

A listening faith

The Times

Jan 22, 2008

Sir, As an Anglican, I am dismayed by what the Rev Dr Peter Mullen writes about homosexual people (“Beware the dark side of the new moral consensus”, Jan 19). After the failure of the Lambeth Conference 1998 to listen properly to the life experiences of a delegation of gay Christians, a process was established — the “Listening Process” — whereby, during the years leading up to Lambeth 2008, there would be opportunities, across the communion, for gay people to tell their life experiences and to be listened to courteously: that “process” to be carefully monitored and reported upon. It seems quite extraordinary that, after such a decade, the Rev Dr Mullen, referring to gay people, writes only of “the love which once dare not speak its name shrieking at us, in high camp, from decorated floats along the high street”. Perhaps he has not listened to the quiet voices of the many gay clergy and lay people who work along side him in ministry. I doubt that they would flaunt their sexuality on the high street or anywhere else. It is a sad truth that too many gay people spend years of isolation within the closet, fearful of the consequences of coming out. Those who do emerge often need specialised support to overcome the damage to their lives and wellbeing caused by ignorance, prejudice and sometimes bullying encountered daily within school, workplace and on the street. Some marry to escape the hostility. Others, unable to withstand the strain of loneliness and fear, take their own life. People, especially those influential within faith groups, should think long and hard about the negative effects that their words can have on the lives of gay people and on the lives of those in the families to which they belong. They might think also about the dangers of generalisations. Christine Holt Bury, Lancs

Marriage Jihad
By: ANTHONY M. BROWN
01/17/2008

Gay City News

According to the Catholic Church, I'm more dangerous than al-Qaeda. My daughter belongs in a madrasa and I commit acts of social terrorism every time I introduce my husband Gary as my "husband Gary." Pope Benedict XVI believes that gay people are a greater threat to the family than global violence or nuclear proliferation. In his January 1, 2008 World Peace Day address, the pontiff stated that deviation from the "one man, one woman" family structure was against the moral norm, and prioritized it in his speech as a more dire concern than the conflict in the Middle East or global warming. I guess that makes me a marriage terrorist. I never understood why Catholics hate gays. I know that statement is a generalization. My in-laws have loved Gary and me for the last 19 years, Gary much longer, and have been Catholic the whole time. The Spanish Inquisition, a tolerantly permissive attitude toward the Nazis, and the child molestation scandal cover-up aside, the Catholic Church has done a lot of good for the world. It's ironic, though, that the people in the Church hierarchy who are so critical of our families and who have made it their mission to see that we cannot marry, have all pledged to live outside the "family," on whose behalf they so loudly protest, and are all "married to God." Whatever the reason, the church's message against gay people takes it toll......

Each respondent had their own story of when, why, and how they felt betrayed by their own church and left it.We are adults. Wounds are processed in a different way. When a 13-year-old sits in that church and hears their words of intolerance and cannot understand why they are "different," he or she just might believe the church. Last week a 14-year-old British girl hung herself because she could no longer take the schoolyard taunting about her being lesbian. An 11-year-old boy killed himself the year before in Sussex England because of gay-related hate bullying.And yet the Church maintains that there is no connection to its stance of anti-gay bigotry. When a Church lends its implicit seal of approval to marginalizing and denigrating others, there can be no Christian reason.

The Church's true colours

New Statesman

11 Jan 2008

 

After three decades of trying to promote tolerance towards gay and lesbian Christians, the lead advocate is leaving, disillusioned It is a favourite mantra among those loyal to new Labour that Britain is a much better place today than it was a decade ago - forward-looking, cosmopolitan and above all tolerant. The evidence often invoked on the last score is the emanci pation of lesbians and gay men. Riding high on law reform, the civil partnerships revolution and steadily increasing visibility from the cabinet to reality TV, many gay campaigners would agree. But that is not how it appears if you are Reverend Richard Kirker, who is about to step down after nearly 30 years as head of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM). For the first half of that time, he fought a lonely battle to get church leaders to discuss sexuality. Now it's hard to get them to talk about anything else, but not in the way he had in mind. Homosexuality is at the centre of a global struggle for the soul of the Anglican Communion, and as gay people are accused of bestiality and demonic possession, the Church seems to have become a repository for the homophobia unacceptable in the rest of society.

Whereas in the old days the Church's anti-gay faction was led by an obscure "Mary Whitehouse in a dog collar" called Reverend Tony Higton, Kirker's main enemy today is Archbishop Peter Akinola, the powerful Anglican Primate of Nigeria. In open disregard of the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution to "listen to the experience of homosexual persons" and to "condemn irrational fear of homosexuals", Akinola says homosexuality is as dangerous to mankind as global warming. If Rowan Williams has issued any rebuke, it has been barely audible until recently. Gay-friendly before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, he now reserves his chief condemnation for the North American Episcopalians who have elected an openly gay bishop. Many of the archbishop's former close gay friends have been left reeling by what they call his betrayal.

Christian extremism raises alarm

Christian Science Monitor

04 Jan 2008

Sacramento, Calif. - A hate-crime trial reconvenes Friday in a case that's dividing Sacramento and drawing attention from organizations that monitor extremists. Alex Shevchenko has been arraigned for a hate crime tied to the assault and eventual death of Satender Singh in July. According to prosecutors, Mr. Shevchenko and Andrey Vusik taunted Mr. Singh in a park because they thought he was gay. Mr. Vusik eventually threw a punch that toppled Singh, dashing his head, they charge. Gay leaders in Sacramento say the incident followed several years of escalating tensions with some Slavic immigrants. "The gut feeling of the [gay] community is that preaching among the local Russian evangelical community is breeding hate and that something would happen. And Satender was the something that happened," says Ed Bennett, a gay Democratic activist. While Slavic leaders say their community is being unfairly scapegoated for legitimate political protests and deeply held religious beliefs, some monitors warn that an emerging group called the Watchmen on the Walls may be fomenting a dangerous atmosphere within the ranks of Slavic immigrants here. "This group has engaged in extremely vicious antigay propaganda, and oftentimes it is that kind of propaganda that is taken by hate criminals as permission to go ahead and attack," says Mark Potok, editor of the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Intelligence Report," which tracks hate crimes nationwide. One gay Russian-speaker – who requests anonymity for personal safety – expresses dismay that the death of Singh hasn't galvanized more moderate Slavic voices. The "mythologizing" of gays as the enemy continues in the local Russian-language media, he says. .......

"It's all about gays and their agenda. Gays are some evil group that is so organized. I didn't know that I belonged to this very powerful group of people," he says. He acknowledges that having Russian-speakers come out of the closet would help change views. "But who is going to do that? I would expose myself to so much hate from people who don't know me."

Ho-hum civil union rights

BOSTON Globe

03 Jan 2008

 


WHEN VERMONT legislators legalized civil unions for gay couples in 2000, there was a bitter backlash against the reform. But on New Year's Day, New Hampshire joined Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey in extending civil union rights to gay and lesbian couples, and the event was met with a collective yawn. There are several reasons for this change, but the most important is that residents of New Hampshire have had a chance to observe Vermont and Connecticut's civil unions and Massachusetts' same-sex marriage, and realized that extending rights to a minority is no threat to the majority - or to the institution of marriage. Not too many years ago, the fiery conservatism of the Manchester Union-Leader newspaper and the state's former governor, Meldrim Thomson, made New Hampshire an unlikely candidate for quiet acceptance of expanded rights for gays. But as resistant as its citizens have been to broad-based taxes or expanded government, there has always been a live-and-let-live streak in the state that has made it infertile ground for politicians telling other people how to live. Recently, the state's high-tech industries have brought in highly trained newcomers with broad views on social issues. Polling for the presidential primary shows that gay marriage is of minor concern to the state's voters.

This page finds civil unions to be an inadequate substitute for true marriage equality. Still, there likely would have been more opposition had New Hampshire legalized gay marriage and not just civil unions, which are seen as a compromise measure. Also, the fact that New Hampshire's elected legislators initiated the change, as opposed to an "unelected" court, as was the case in both Vermont and Massachusetts, may have made the reform more acceptable to voters. But the strongest factor making civil unions such a non-issue in New Hampshire has to be the opportunity the state has had to look elsewhere in New England, where experience shows that legal recognition of same sex couples has stabilized and strengthened those relationships without doing anything to weaken heterosexual marriage. Like other civil union laws, New Hampshire's grants gays property rights, shared wills, and hospital visitation privileges. Several other states have created varying levels of rights in domestic partnership laws.

FOXnews

02 Dec 2007

Philadelphia Boy Scouts Face Eviction Over Anti-Gay Policy

The Philadelphia Boy Scouts could find themselves booted from their historic dowtown headquarters Monday unless a dispute with City Hall over the group's anti-gay policies is resolved. The Cradle of Liberty Council—Philadelphia's Boy Scout chapter—has been housed in an historic building in downtown Philly for almost 80 years, paying almost nothing for the prime piece of proprety under the terms of a 100-year sweetheart lease it inked with the city in 1928. But that lease is set to expire, and city officials say the taxpayer's shouldn't be footing the Scouts rent bill because of it's national policy banning openly gay members and leaders. The Scouts must either pony up the fair market rent for the space—about $200,000 a year—or find a new home. "If they want to accept the national policies of the Boy Scout organization they have to be able to pay for it," said Philadelphia City Councilman Jack Kelly.According to a letter the Boy Scouts received from City Solicitor Rome Diaz, the Boy Scouts have until Dec. 3 to sign a new lease and start paying for the use of the property, or the city will find a new tennant and the scouts will be evicted.

AP

22 Nov 2007

In rare move, SG gives approval to JDM

SINGAPORE (AFP) - In a rare move, Singapore has given approval for an American gay couple to perform next month as part of a concert to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.The Los Angeles-based Christian gay couple Jason and deMarco were barred in 2005 from performing in the city-state.But the Media Development Authority (MDA) said it had approved a concert this time because organisers had given assurances that they aimed to highlight the HIV/AIDS issue."In 2005, a similar concert featuring the pop duo was disallowed because the concert was open to general members of the public," the MDA's deputy director for arts and licensing, Amy Tsang, said in a statement Thursday.She said concert organisers have "given the assurance to MDA that the concert is targeted at the high risk groups."The organiser has also assured MDA that the aim of the concert is AIDS education and HIV prevention," she said.The duo is to perform on December 13, the Today newspaper reported.Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's second minister for information, communications and the arts, has said the city-state was liberalising but retained a very strong conservative core.As part of major revisions to the Penal Code approved by parliament last month, Singapore legalised oral and anal sex between heterosexual couples but retained a law which criminalises intercourse between gay men.

Sunday Herald

18 Nov 07

Tutu criticises church’s attitude to homosexuality
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND Tutu has criticised his own church for being "obsessed" with homosexuality. The South African Nobel laureate said God "must be weeping" at seeing that the Church had such misplaced priorities. He also criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury for not demonstrating the attributes of a "welcoming God". Speaking on a BBC Radio 4 programme, the archbishop, 76, said: "Our world is facing problems - poverty, HIV and Aids, a devastating pandemic, and conflict. In the face of all of that, our Church, especially the Anglican Church, at this time is almost obsessed with questions of human sexuality." Tutu said the Anglican Church had appeared "extraordinarily homophobic" during the debate over whether Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, should become the Bishop of New Hampshire. Tutu said he felt "saddened" and "ashamed" of his church at that time. When asked if he still felt ashamed, he said: "If we are going to not welcome or invite people because of sexual orientation yes. If God as they say is homophobic I wouldn't worship that God." He also rebuked religious conservatives who say that homosexuality is a choice gay people make. He said: "It is a perversion if you say to me that a person chooses to be homosexual. You must be crazy to choose a way of life that exposes you to a kind of hatred. It's like saying you choose to be black in a race -hate infected society." Criticising Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Tutu said: "Why doesn't he demonstrate a particular attribute of God's, which is that God is a welcoming God?" The US conservative bishop, Robert Duncan, Ann Widdecombe MP, and the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey criticise Tutu's views during the programme.

Telegraph UK

Pastor in Microsoft 'gay rights' share bid
By Toby Harnden in Redmond, Washington

16 Nov 2007

A black conservative Christian pastor of an evangelical megachurch has vowed to take over Microsoft by packing it with new shareholders who will vote against the company's policy of championing gay rights. The Reverend Ken Hutcherson, a former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, heads the Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, home of Microsoft. He told Microsoft executives at a shareholders' meeting last week that he would be their "worst nightmare" if they continued to defy him. Antioch Bible Church attracts around 3,500 worshippers for its services and Mr Hutcherson is a powerful figure in the Christian conservative movement. His church, which emphasises racial diversity and a strict moral code, grew from a bible study class for just 15 people in 1984. An advocate of a "biblical stance" against divorce and homosexuality, Mr Hutcherson, 55, is asking millions of evangelical activists, as well as Orthodox Jewish and other allies, to buy up Microsoft shares and demand a return to traditional values. Microsoft, he declares, will be just the first company targeted in an escalation of the culture wars between evangelicals and corporate America. "There are 256 Fortune 500 companies alone pouring millions upon millions of dollars into pushing the homosexual agenda," he told The Daily Telegraph. "I consider myself a warrior for Christ. Microsoft don't scare me. I got God with me. "I told them that you need to work with me or we will put a firestorm on you like you have never seen in you life because I am your worst nightmare. I am a black man with a righteous cause with a whole host of powerful white people behind me." Mr Hutcherson's office is decorated with the heads of deer, elk and a buffalo – "when I run into animals, I kill them and bring them home and eat them" – as well as invitations to the White House and signed pictures of himself with President George W. Bush. His ambitious plan signals a new offensive in his two-year battle with Microsoft after it abandoned its neutral stance on gay rights legislation, which he says he helped secretly negotiate before outraged gay employees intervened. By trying to become a political player in Washington state, he said, the company was trying to impose its sinful ways on others. "Microsoft stepped out of their four walls into my world so that gives me the right to step out of my world into their world," he said. "They tried to turn their policy into state policy, making their policy something I had to submit to. And my playbook [the bible] tells me you don't submit to sin."

Church Of Norway Eases Ban Against Ordination Of Homosexual Clergy

16 Nov 2007

Oslo, Norway (AHN) - Norway's state Evangelical-Lutheran church lifted a ban Friday and will allow clergies in same sex relationships to be ordained. Currently, the church allows homosexuals to serve in the clergy as long as they are not living with their gay partner. The new ruling leaves it up to each of the country's 11 bishops to make individual decision on whether to employ those clergies who are in homosexual partnerships. Earlier this year, six bishops had voted on easing the ban. The 86 members of the highest decision-making body, the general synod, voted 50-34 to approve a new principle which stated that there were two opposite views, both based on church teachings, on same-sex relationships. Friday's vote is seen as a compromise on a 1997 resolution passed by the highest body in Norway's state Protestant church that barred all clergies in homosexual partnerships from holding consecrated posts. The vote elicited mixed response. Opponents feel that homosexuality goes against the Bible's teachings while those supporting say a modern church should be all-inclusive, irrespective of a person's sexual orientation. The Associated Press reports Marit Tingelstad, head of the Bishop's Council for southeastern Norway's Hamar district, saying on the state radio network NRK: "This will create peace in the church, and security for homosexual clergy." Bishop Ole D. Hagesaeter, of the Bjoergvin district, said: "This is a sad day for the church. It will be a splitting factor and lead to many feeling homeless in the church." Norwegian law offers people in homosexual partnerships the same rights as those in heterosexual marriages, exceptions being church weddings and adoption. The church has nearly 85 percent of the country's population as members and the topic has generated heated debate.

AFP

16 Nov 2007

Singapore bans Xbox game over lesbian scene
Singapore has banned the sale of an Xbox video game that features an intimate scene between two female characters, a statement received Thursday said. The "Mass Effect" game, a futuristic space adventure, contains "a scene of lesbian intimacy... as such the game has been disallowed," the deputy director of the Board of Film Censors said in the statement. The board is part of the Media Development Authority (MDA), Singapore's media watchdog. Under local guidelines, video games sold in Singapore cannot "feature exploitative or gratuitous sex and violence, or denigrate any race or religion," the official said. "Mass Effect" is to be launched globally next week. US software giant Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming console, said it respected the media watchdog's action. "We strictly adhere to the laws, regulations and norms of the markets we operate in," the company said in an e-mail reply to AFP. MDA said a new video games classification system to be introduced next year could allow titles such as "Mass Effect" to be passed and classified appropriately. Singapore is Southeast Asia's most advanced economy but the government maintains strict censorship laws. Earlier this year the city-state banned two other video games, "God of War II" for nudity and "The Darkness" for excessive violence and religiously offensive expletives, the statement said. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's second minister for information, communications and the arts, has said the city-state was liberalising but retained a very strong conservative core. As part of major revisions to the Penal Code approved by parliament last month, Singapore legalised oral and anal sex between heterosexual couples but retained a law which criminalises intercourse between gay men.

Fox News

13 Nov 07

Member of Iranian Parliament admits homosexuals in his country are
executed. 'They spread diseases. It's a severe crime that is against
the laws of nature,' he says.
Homosexuals should be executed, Iranian Parliament Member Mohsen Yahyavi said during a discussion between Iranian legislators and British officials in London in May, according to the protocol of the meeting published Tuesday in the British newspaper The Times. Yahyavi, a member of the committee on energy affairs in Iran's Parliament, was in Britain for a peace summit. Opposition "According to Islamic law, homosexuality is a grave crime," Yahyavi was quoted as saying. "It's a severe crime that goes against the laws of nature. It is human nature to procreate and homosexuals do not procreate." The Iranian legislator added, "We do not have any opposition to this type of behavior as long as it is done behind closed doors, but those who (engage in) this behavior in public should be put to death." The protocol shows that Yahyavi originally indicated that homosexuals should be "tortured," but he quickly corrected himself and said they should be "put to death." Human rights in Iran Britain and various human rights groups have been constantly criticizing Iran for its poor humans rights record. Recently, the Iranian government was given a report which accuses the pariah state of publicly hanging people convicted of engaging in homosexual behavior. Iran has also been accused with executing women who were raped or accused of adultery. The issue of homosexuality in Iran gained the world's attention when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to it by saying "we don't have this phenomenon in Iran" during a visit to the US in October. A day after his controversial appearance at Columbia University, a Tehran resident says, 'They exist, but have to hide.'
GOP Senator Investigates Spending at Several TV Ministries

By Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 7, 2007;
Some of the nation's biggest televangelists -- including faith healer Benny Hinn and best-selling Christian book author Joyce Meyer -- are targets of an investigation by Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. After receiving reports of lavish spending at the ministries, Grassley said yesterday that he has requested detailed documents on the finances of the organizations, which bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in donations annually. All of the ministries have been the target of complaints for years by watchdog organizations, which have alleged that the groups' charismatic leaders dip deeply into donations to fund extravagant lifestyles. The Grassley investigation is "well-deserved and well-overdue, " said Rusty Leonard, who runs MinistryWatch. com, which examines how nonprofit Christian organizations spend donations. Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, religious organizations "whose principal purpose is the study or advancement of religion" are exempt from financial reporting requirements demanded of other groups. The ministries are "organized as churches, and therefore they don't have to give you any financial information whatsoever," Leonard said. Grassley, who in recent years has forced changes in such nonprofit organizations as the American Red Cross, the Nature Conservancy, American University and the Smithsonian Institution, said in a statement that the allegations involve such amenities as private jets and Rolls-Royces. He has also asked for credit card records, clothing and jewelry expenses and any cosmetic surgery expenses. Hinn ministries spokesman Ronn Torossian said Hinn "complies with the laws that govern church and nonprofit organizations and will continue to do so." Meyer, who is based in Fenton, Mo., has said that her accouterments, including multimillion- dollar homes and luxury cars, are blessings from God. In a statement, Meyer attorney Thomas J. Winters said the IRS recently concluded after an investigation that the organization continues to qualify for tax-exempt status. The other televangelists under investigation include Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church, based in Tampa; Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, based in Newark, Tex.; and from Georgia, Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International.

06 Nov 2007

Sex party broken up, 34 rounded up at shoplot

TheStar

By BERNARD SEE

 

PENANG: From the front, it looked just like any other shoplot but on the inside, the third-floor shoplot in Medan Fettes actually housed a fitness centre-cum-sauna used for gay sex parties. A police team raided the premises at about 7.30pm on Sunday while a sex party was in progress and rounded up 34 men, aged between 22 and 55, including a Briton. George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said numerous used condoms were found strewn all over the floor of the sauna by the team. “Seven tubes of lubrication jelly, 20 gay magazines, four pornographic VCDs and six boxes of condoms were seized from the premises. “The men were brought back to the Patani Road police station and released after their statements were taken. Three workers were also picked up in the raid. “We will check with the authorities if the operator has abused his business licence. We will not tolerate the presence of such joints in the district,” he said yesterday. ACP Azam said the raid was part of the police’s ongoing operation codenamed Ops Bersih aimed at keeping all types of vice activities in check. A resident who wanted to be known only as Ah Leong, 35, said he had lived in the area all his life but he did not know that such a place existed. “Apparently, the place was only known by word of mouth. I was told that the place had been in operation for more than a year.” On April 3, police raided two similar joints, which was operating without a licence, at a shopping complex in Jalan Burma and picked up more than 30 men.

“Grace Under Fire”
Controversial Anglican Bishop to Visit Hong Kong – October 20 & 21

The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson will visit Hong Kong in the third week of October. He is the Episcopal Bishop of the American Diocese of New Hampshire, and the first openly gay and partnered bishop in the 78 million member worldwide Anglican Communion. The bishop is using his sabbatical leave as an opportunity to become better acquainted with Southeast Asia. His consecration in 2003 created a storm in the Anglican world. The upheaval continues to threaten the future unity of the communion. Very much “the eye at the center of that storm”, Bishop Robinson is, at the same time, in the perception of the many more who have come to know him in his unsolicited celebrity, a profound embodiment of “grace under fire”. A man of deep faith and courage, his center holds firm even in the face of all the vitriol and hatred that have been directed at him. The threats to his life before his consecration were serious enough for those charged with his protection to compel him to wear a bulletproof vest under his vestments on that special day. In visiting Hong Kong, Bishop Robinson visits a region and a church in which the rights of sexual minorities are not fully protected by law and in which discrimination against sexual minorities remains the social and ecclesial norm. The Hong Kong Christian Institute, The Hong Kong Christian Women Council, and the Spiritual Seekers Society will welcome this important voice for justice and for a more inclusive church and society, and host an address entitled “Securing Justice for Sexual Minorities”. From the wealth of his personal experience, the Bishop will speak to the work of doing justice in the social, political and institutional-religious arenas.Bishop Robinson will speak on Saturday afternoon, October 20th, at 3:30PM, at City University of Hong Kong LT - 17. There will be an opportunity for dialogue. Simultaneous translation will be provided.On Sunday afternoon, October 21st, at 4PM, the Bishop will visit and address the Blessed Minority Christian Fellowship at their place of worshipThere will be an “Ecumenical Evensong for a More Inclusive Church and Society”, at Bethanie Chapel, on the campus of the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts in Pokfulam, Sunday afternoon, October 21st, at 6:30PM. After the service, Bishop Robinson will address those who have come to pray.

Reuters 31 Oct 2007

Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral. Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's death was God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going to hell" and "God hates you." The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead man's family and inflicted emotional distress. Albert Snyder, the Marine's father, testified that his son was not gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's tolerance of gays. Matthew Snyder died in combat in Iraq in March 2006. The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the past two years. The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda." "I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families. It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania. The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family It will take the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a few minutes to reverse this silly thing," Phelps said. His daughter and co-defendant, Shirley Phelps-Roper, vowed to continue protesting military funerals and called the court's decision a blow against free speech. Outside court on Wednesday, Phelps and his children waved placards with slogans such as "Pray for more dead kids" and "God hates fag enablers," while passing drivers and pedestrians shouted abuse at them. Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already three times the defendants' net worth. "It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them," Katz said. Craig Trebilcock, an attorney for Snyder, said jurors should award sufficient punitive damages to deter Westboro from repeating its actions.
18 Oct 2007
The New Paper

IT'S ALL ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS
Don't speculate about me, focus on issue, says NMP in gay-rights fight By Leong Ching Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong is 32, a lawyer and a young activist. He has spoken on CPF reforms, discrimination against NSmen and ministers' pay in Parliament. Now, however, he could be most remembered as the NMP who brought the gay issue to Parliament. Mr Siew is tabling a petition in Parliament to repeal a law that makes gay sex a crime. And it has led many to wonder: Is he gay? 'I am not. I have a girlfriend,' Mr Siew told The New Paper. 'But I have been staying clear of this question - because that is not the issue. It has nothing to do with whether I am gay or not. 'So I have deliberately refrained from volunteering that I am straight. But since you asked, I responded.' His is not an agenda on behalf of gay rights. There is a larger issue.'I truly do believe that Section 377A is unfair, unjust, and plain wrong,' he said.'It is contrary to principles of equality and non-discrimination, and it seeks to use the criminal law to enforce a specific moral view which is contrary to accepted fundamental precepts of criminal law.'The Parliamentary Petition will be filed ahead of Parliament's sitting on Monday. MPs are slated to speak on the amendments to the Penal Code, which governs most criminal offences here.The proposed changes are many, as the law has not been amended since the mid-1980s. However, they do not include Section 377A, under which it is a crime for men to have sex with each other, even in their own bedroom. Mr Siew said earlier that the idea for the petition was suggested by its two lead signatories, lawyer George Hwang and gay media company Fridae.com's chief executive Stuart Koe.

On his blog, in public comments and in interviews, Mr Siew has avoided declaring his sexuality - until now.'For the record, I am decidedly straight. I am in a serious and committed relationship with a wonderful woman,' he said. 'But I have always been loathe to mention that because I did not want to dignify this sort of speculation with such a disclaimer. 'Whether I am gay or not should really have nothing to do with the merits of the debate. 'After all, this is not a gay issue but an issue of equality and non-discrimination.'It is an issue for all Singaporeans. The debate, he stressed, 'is about the public, the people, heterosexuals and gays, who believe that Section 377A is wrong and should be repealed, and are willing to put their names down in writing to stand behind it.'His girlfriend, he said, also signed the petition. He declined to give further details about her, save that 'she supports me in doing this'.He admits that there will be 'perceptions and suspicions' that he is tabling the petition because he is himself gay. 'That really speaks volumes about the level of debate in Singapore,' he said. His actions, he said, were motivated by his long-held personal views, 'views which I must add are held by a broad spectrum of Singaporeans regardless of sexual orientation' , he said. 'I felt an obligation to agree to present the petition to Parliament,' he said, adding that he was 'completely overwhelmed' by the response the petition has generated - both positive and negative.More than three newspaper forum letter writers have argued against repealing the law. One also questioned Mr Siew's right to raise the issue in Parliament. While Mr Siew did not want to talk about the outcome he is hoping for,
he added that he is happy the petition 'has generated a useful discourse'.'It is important to have a debate on the concepts of equality and non-discrimination in Singapore.

'It was a diverse group of people who signed the petition - straight, gay, male, female, young, middle-aged, old. Even religious people signed the petition. 'So that shows that these issues cut across lines and resonate universally, ' he said.But the petition is unlikely to move the Goverment. It has already said that it would not amend the law. At a forum last month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained that the Government's view was that it should not push forward on this issue, but follow society's views.And the majority of Singaporeans, he said, was not ready.Earlier, the Government had said that it would maintain the status quo, as Singapore is generally a conservative society. But authorities would not actively prosecute people under Section 377A. Constitutional lawyer Kevin Tan said he, too, did not think the petition would lead to any change in legislation.'The Government has stated its stand, and since the arguments in the petition are not new, I can't see the Government back tracking,' he said.

15 Oct 2007

AP

Vatican official insists he's not gay

VATICAN CITY - A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man said in an interview published Sunday that he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work. In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico said he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. He said that he pretended to be gay in order to gather information about "those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity." Vatican teaching holds that homosexual activity is a sin."It's all false; it was a trap. I was a victim of my own attempts to contribute to cleaning up the Church with my psychoanalyst work," La Repubblica quoted Stenico as saying.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Saturday that the monsignor had been suspended pending a Vatican investigation. Stenico is a top official in the Vatican's Congregation of the Clergy.The Vatican after acted Vatican officials recognized Stenico's office in the background of a television program on gay priests that was broadcast on Oct. 1 on La7, a private Italian TV network. Stenico was secretly filmed making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful.In the Repubblica interview, Stenico said he had met with the young man and pretended to talk about homosexuality "to better understand this mysterious and faraway world which, by the fault of a few people — among them some priests — is doing so much harm to the Church."He said he had never been gay and was heterosexual, but remained faithful to his vow of celibacy.Italy's Sky TG24 said Stenico had written a letter to his superiors with a similar defense.Calls to Stenico's home and Vatican office went unanswered Sunday.
14 Oct 2007 ROME (AFP) - The Vatican has suspended a senior cleric who confessed his homosexuality on a television programme, even though his face and voice were made unrecognisable, a spokesman was quoted as saying Saturday. "His superiors are treating this situation with the required discretion and respect due to the person concerned, even if this person has committed errors," Federico Lombardi told the Italian news agency ANSA. The daily La Repubblica identified the priest concerned, who was not named, as an official aged around 60 in the Congregation for the Clergy, the Vatican department which manages the 400,000 Catholic priests across the world.

"The authorities are obliged to act with the necessary severity against behaviour that is incompatible with religious service and the mission of the Holy See," Lombardi said.Four gay priests appeared in the television programme broadcast on October 1 on the national television channel La7. All had their faces hidden from the camera and their voices electronically disguised.But the suspended prelate made the mistake of giving the televised interview in his Vatican office, which was identified by other staff, La Repubblica said.In the interview, he said that he did not regard himself as a sinner, but had to be discreet in order not to attract the attention of his superiors.

13 Oct 2007

Thousands march in Taipei for gay rights

TAIPEI, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands from Taiwan's gay and lesbian community marched through the streets of Taipei Saturday demanding more rights for homosexuals, organisers said. The parade took a carnival-like mood with marchers waving rainbow flags, colourful balloons and signs. Some were dressed in flamboyant period costumes while others only wore swim trunks despite the cool weather. "We have to make our voices and demands heard so that the government will do more to promote gay rights," said Way Chao, a 22-year-old serviceman from southern Kaohsiung. In a symbol of unity, participants will raise coloured placards to form a giant rainbow flag later Saturday in a bustling business district in Taipei, organisers said. The parade reached its climax with a rally outside Taipei City Hall, where Taiwanese pop diva A-Mei was recognised as a goodwill ambassador by organisers for her support of the gay community. The singer, who performed some of her hit songs to the cheering crowd, endeared herself to the gay audience when she released a music video depicting a gay wedding scene several years ago. Despite the festive atmosphere, organisers hoped to get some serious messages across to the public.

"We urge the parliament to pass the anti-discrimination bill and the same-sex partner bill to promote gay rights," said co-organiser Wang Ping, secretary-general of Gender/Sexuality Rights Association Taiwan.Taiwan's cabinet in 2003 drafted a controversial bill to legalise same-sex marriages and recognise the rights of homosexual couples to adopt children, the first country in Asia to do so.However, the law has yet to be passed and some gay groups have criticised the bill as a ploy to woo voters."We also hope the government will protect the freedom of speech of the gay community," Wang added, referring to a 2005 guilty verdict against a gay book dealer for selling pornographic magazines.In 2005, a district court in northern Taiwan sentenced J.J. Lai, owner of a gay bookstore in Taipei, to 50 days in jail on obscenity charges in a ruling which outraged the gay community.Lai argued that similar materials are easily available for heterosexual readers. However, his appeal was rejected by the Taiwan High Court.
Giles Fraser
Thursday September 27, 2007
The Guardian

After months of "Anglican church to divide" headlines, the end is, at last, nigh. Those Anglicans who are really no more than fundamentalists in vestments will split off and form a version of the continuing Anglican church, or whatever they will call it. And the moderate conservatives and the moderate progressives will settle down to business as usual. After much worry, the Archbishop of Canterbury will be able to have a good night's sleep. The church is safe.If only it were as simple as that. The deal that the archbishop has brokered with the Episcopal church in New Orleans protects the unity of the church by persuading US bishops that the church is more important than justice. The prophets of the Hebrew scriptures would have been appalled. For all the high-sounding rhetoric about how much they value gay people, the church has once again purchased its togetherness by excluding the outsider. The biblical text that hovers over this whole shoddy deal is John 11:50. As Jesus stands before the court, the high priest Caiaphas persuades the others that for practical reasons he must be got rid of: "You do not understand that it is better to have one man die than to have the whole nation destroyed." And so the deal is done. OK, so no one has died here. A gay American bishop hasn't been invited to the Lambeth conference, a hugely expensive jolly that brings all the church's bishops to Canterbury once every 10 years. On top of this, the US church has agreed not to make any more bishops if they admit to being gay and having a partner. And they won't do gay blessing services either. Is this really so onerous a set of compromises in order to keep everybody round the same communion table? After all, compared with the desolation and misery that Hurricane Katrina wrought on those who hosted the meeting in New Orleans, ought we not to get a bit more perspective? No: the struggle for the full inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the life of the church is a frontline battle in the war against global religious fascism.

Robert Mugabe has called homosexuals "worse than dogs and pigs". Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government denies that gay people exist in Iran, and hangs the ones it finds. The Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria thinks homosexuality "evil" and "cancerous". There can be no compromise with any of this, irrespective of whether it is backed up by dodgy readings of holy texts or not. Which is why the collapse of will in the US House of Bishops is so disappointing. Whatever happened to the spirit of the Boston tea party? One visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury and they get suckered into history worship, falling in line behind the ancient mother church as if they were still suspended on colonial apron strings. Unfortunately, for all its sharp prophetic witness, the Achilles heel of the Episcopal church is its snotty-nosed Anglophilia. Establishment liberals have only so much bottle. US bishops are now returning to their dioceses with a troubled conscience. Many know that the logic of the New Orleans deal is the logic of unity through exclusion. The church styles itself as not playing by these rules, yet this whole sorry business is as visceral as a group of playground kids coming together to slag off the boy with the unfashionable haircut or funny accent. Finding someone to point the finger at is the best way of bringing people together. Global Christian cohesion is being achieved by a church that is defining itself against some representative other - in this case, a short, rather geeky gay bishop with a bit of a drink problem. He is a scapegoat straight from central casting. The sad truth is, the issue of homosexuality isn't splitting the Anglican communion: it's uniting it like never before. Before this great global row, we hardly knew each other existed. Anglicans in the pews could hardly care less about Christians in the next door parish, let alone care for those thousands of miles away in Africa or Asia. But as crisis looms, common cause has been achieved. The Rt Rev Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, has brought people together: hands across the ocean, united in homophobia. It was the Episcopal church that held out longest against unholy unification. But in agreeing to these terms, they too have now bent the knee to the will of the collective bully. The fact that a fringe of rabid evangelicals may now quit the church must not distract from Rowan Williams's achievement in keeping us all together. A crisis has been averted. Gay people remain firmly on the outside; used by the church for vicars and vergers and sacristans, but officially little more than outcasts. I have never been persuaded that Jesus was gay, as some do believe. But there is no doubt that he too was the outsider, despised and rejected. He also was the victim of official religious persecution. Which is why the other passage that today's Christians ought to give some thought to is the one from St Matthew's gospel that goes: "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."

Nigerian archbishop blasts Episcopal Church stand

Wed Sep 26, 2007

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A leading conservative critic of the U.S. Episcopal Church said on Wednesday its bishops have turned their back on pleas from global Anglican church leaders to take a clear stand against consecrating gays as bishops or blessing same-sex unions. "Sadly it seems that our hopes were not well-founded and our pleas have once again been ignored," Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria said, responding to a six-day meeting of Episcopal Church bishops that ended a day earlier in New Orleans."Instead of the change of heart (repentance) we sought, what we have been offered is merely a temporary adjustment in an unrelenting determination" to make the rest of the global Anglican Communion, as the worldwide church is called, think the same way as its U.S. branch, Akinola said in a statement issued from his office and circulated to American media.What the Episcopal bishops came up with was not a "whole-hearted embrace of traditional Christian teaching" and it lacked the clarity and unambiguity that he and other leading Anglican bishops had sought from the U.S. church in a statement issued during a meeting earlier this year in Tanzania. Akinola is a leader of the traditionalists in the "Global South" -- African, Asian and Latin American congregations who make up more than half the world's Anglican followers.The U.S. bishops wound up their meeting on Tuesday promising to urge restraint in elevating gays or lesbians to the position of bishop and said they would not authorize rites to be used for the blessing of same-sex marriages. The positions did not go far beyond those already taken by the 2.4-million-member U.S. church. At the Tanzania meeting leading Anglican bishops, or primates, from around the world "requested" that the U.S. branch of the church make it clear by September 30 that it would not ordain another openly gay person as a bishop and would not allow the blessing of same-sex unions. The 2003 Episcopal Church consecration of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first bishop known to be in an openly gay relationship in more than four centuries of church history, has rent both the U.S. church and the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.NOT BANNEDIn New Orleans the bishops of the U.S. church reaffirmed a resolution passed by its general convention in the summer of 2006 calling on those picking candidates for bishop to choose people who would not offend the wider church, and the bishops said that included gays and lesbians.But there was no outright pledge to ban another consecration of a gay person should one be elected bishop.On the issue of blessing same-sex unions the U.S. bishops said they "pledge not to authorize for use in our dioceses any public rites of blessing of same-sex unions until a broader consensus emerges in the Communion ..."They went on to say that such blessings are not happening in a widespread way and that the majority of bishops oppose them. But they did not pledge to ban them.The U.S. bishops also expressed dismay that conservative bishops from Africa and elsewhere -- Akinola among them -- have been visiting in the United States uninvited and installing bishops loyal to their orthodox views.

Muslim cleric 'backs execution of gays'

Don Frame
26/10/2006
 A ROW has blown up over a claim a prominent Manchester Muslim has defended the execution of sexually-active gay people as "justified". Arshad Misbahi, a junior Imam at the city's Central Mosque is alleged to have confirmed that it is an acceptable punishment in Iraq and Iran. His comments are said to have been made to psychotherapist Dr John Casson who is researching the persecution of gays in Islamic states. But they have been condemned as "encouraging conflict between the area's large gay and Muslim communities. Witnesses Dr Casson said: "He told me that in a true Islamic state, such punishments were part of Islam if the person had had a trial, at which four witnesses testified that they had seen the actual homosexual acts." He went on: "I asked him what would be the British Muslim view and he repeated that in an Islamic state these punishments were justified. "They might result in the deaths of thousands, but if this deterred millions from having sex and spreading disease, then it was worthwhile to protect the wider community."It is understood Imam Misbahi believes his comments were taken out of context and misrepresented. He says will be issuing a statement to clarify his views.

17 Sept 2007

'THE SKY DIDN’T FALL IN' In any country, bigots must be fought with well-reasoned arguments and reliable research, says Sir Ian McKellen. By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop Newsweek International Sept. 17, 2007 - Sir Ian McKellen has been a vocal gay-rights advocate since making his own homosexuality public in 1988. The following year he cofounded the gay-rights lobbying group Stonewall UK. Best known for his roles in "X-Men" and "The Lord of the Rings," the Oscar nominee was recently in Singapore with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in the title role of "King Lear." He talked to NEWSWEEK's Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop about his lobbying experience in the United Kingdom and in South Africa. Excerpts KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP: In the United Kingdom, attitudes toward homosexuality have changed fairly rapidly recently. In 2000, the British government lifted the ban on lesbian and gay men in the armed forces. In 2001, it lowered the age of consent to 16. And in 2005, it allowed the first civil partnerships to take place. But in many countries around the world, homosexuality is still outlawed. How can similar social changes happen? MCKELLEN: The change happened very quickly in the U.K. once the government was able to say there had been a change in the public mood. Tony Blair's New Labour did not campaign for new legislation. Indeed they defended the status quo until they were told by the European Court of Human Rights to admit gays into the military and to equalize age of consent. Europe was of great help to us. The sky didn't fall in, the die-hards began to look like extremists and the government was emboldened. With the approval of the mainstream press, they felt able to introduce not marriage but the next best thing: civil partnership that the state recognizes. So looking back on his legacy, what Blair can be most proud of is the advancement of gay rights. How do you further change public opinion? In the U.K. there is still work to be done, particularly in schools, stopping the homophobic bullies in the playground and introducing unbiased discussion on gay issues in the classroom. In countries that need reform, the bigots have to be countered by measured arguments and reliable research so that government can respond to reason and not prejudice. Public figures' coming out and declaring their homosexuality certainly helps the move to change.

What worked in the U.K.? In any human-rights campaign, everybody must do what they can. I was criticized by some gays as being too soft on the government when I made a private meeting in a very public way with John Major, Blair's predecessor as prime minister. Major was sending signals to his supporters at a time where most gay people, including myself, had stayed very quiet. Some people argued that the best thing was to go to the streets and frighten the horses, disrupt the state opening of Parliament, or interrupt the Archbishop of Canterbury's Sunday sermon. That's not my style: I already have enough theater in my life! But do you think people should be upfront and protest, or take the quiet way? Both are valid and work well in parallel—think of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. In Singapore, Malcolm X type of activity would be extremely difficult because the government can be very harsh on lawbreakers. I wouldn't presume to tell what people should do. Some argue that some societies, like Singapore's, are too conservative for such changes. There is nothing special about their situation. We heard it all before: "Gays should respect the views of those who condemn them." "Government is powerless to move until society is ready for change." "The law here that outlaws love between two grown men was left behind by the British." I would have thought any self-respecting ex-colony would want to get rid of the colonizer's laws. When I went to lobby Nelson Mandela while the postapartheid constitution was being drafted, I asked him to endorse making it illegal to discriminate on grounds of sexuality. I'd been warned that he might giggle if I mentioned homosexuality. But he got the point immediately and just said, "Yes, of course." Perhaps a winning slogan might be: "What's good enough for Mandela is good enough for us all." Do you think pragmatism will change the world? Perhaps. When I went to talk recently to Lehman Brothers in London at a meeting of their LGBT members, the managing director declared that every member of his staff, of whatever sexuality, needs to feel the support of company as a whole. Singapore's current laws would discourage gay foreigners from working there. Maybe big business can help change laws by explaining the problem.

11 Sept 2007

The Gazette

 

 

Focus on the Family announced Monday that it is laying off 30 employees and reassigning 15 others. It also announced that founder James Dobson had been cleared of accusations that he jeopardized the group’s nonprofit status by endorsing Republican candidates. Most of the layoffs are in the organization’s Constituent Response Services department that answers mail and telephone requests. A drop in projected revenue played a part in the layoffs, and the growth of e-mail and Internet-based communications is behind the reassignments, said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of communications. The layoffs are less than 3 percent of the work force of 1,205. After layoffs, 70 employees will remain in Constituent Response Services. Some of the departing employees’ duties will be reassigned. Jim Daly, Focus president and CEO, said that the organization expects to take in about $1 million more than in 2005-06 by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 but that the increase doesn’t offset inflation. “Our budget was fairly aggressive. The projected budget was $150 million. It looks like it will come in about $8 million under, at $142 million,” Schneeberger said. Dobson has said on several of his radio shows that donations have been down. Many churches and parachurch organizations are seeing decreases in income, according to Terry Gorka, head administrator at Barna, a California-based research organization that tracks Christian ministries.

The collection plate has been suffering for a number of years and even more so recently as economic woes, including the housing downturn, has hit. While many denominations suggest a 10 percent tithe, in recent years most Americans have given less than 3 percent of their income, a Barna study found. Those leaving Focus will be given packages that include contributions to health care expenses, job-placement assistance and financial compensation. “Organizational change, while healthy and positive, is always difficult when it involves a staff reduction,” Daly said in a news release. “Building flexibility into our internal operations is vital to staying engaged with and relevant to our constituents. The adjustments we’re making this week, though difficult, will allow us to better serve the families that rely on Focus on the Family in the future.” The changes take effect Sept. 21. The nonprofit’s 2007-08 fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Focus is Colorado Springs’ largest evangelical organization, with a worldwide radio program, publications and telephone help for families. The IRS ruled that Dobson was acting as an individual and not on behalf of Focus in his endorsement of political candidates. “We were confident all along that we were within the letter of the law. We were hyper-compliant. There was not one slap on the wrist from the IRS. As a private citizen, he can speak out about what he wants to, and he always made clear he was speaking as a private citizen,” Schneeberger said Monday. Liberal watchdog groups, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Colorado Springsbased Citizens Project, had filed complaints with the IRS in 2005.

29 Aug 2007

BOISE, Idaho (CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an incident in an airport restroom, is losing support among conservatives and Republicans in his home state of Idaho. State party officials are standing by Craig in their public comments, but some privately say that the senator is ruined. One conservative leader, though, was unequivocal: "I believe he should resign because I believe character is an extremely important qualification for public service," said Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance. "And I believe the senator, by his own admission, has acknowledged that he has fallen short of the standard that we should expect from public servants." Craig's term ends next year; he has not announced whether he will seek re-election. In Washington, Republican colleagues generally are taking a "wait and see" approach. However, Senate GOP leaders in Washington called Tuesday for an Ethics Committee investigation of the Idaho Republican's June arrest at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota."He's disappointed the American people," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, for whose presidential campaign Craig was a Senate liaison, told CNBC on Tuesday night.In his first public statement on the arrest, the lawmaker said he did nothing "inappropriate." "Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been," said Craig, who has aligned himself with conservative groups who oppose gay rights. Since news of his arrest broke, Craig appears to be in deep political trouble. "I think it's very damaging.

There is a lot of smoke here, and the truth is that in politics, smoke is as deadly as the fire sometimes," said Jennifer Duffy, editor of The Cook Political Report. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told Craig on Tuesday that the leaders of his party were calling for an ethics investigation into what they termed a "serious matter," a Senate Republican leadership aide said. The aide said one factor in the decision was the arresting officer's assertion that Craig produced a business card identifying himself as a U.S. senator after his arrest and allegedly said, "What do you think about that?" Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, chairwoman of the Ethics Committee, declined to comment on whether an investigation would be conducted. Her office noted the committee's work is generally confidential. In recent years, Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups. He has supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states. Craig also has opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.

24 Aug 07 ATLANTA - The minister husband of evangelist and gospel singer Juanita Bynum turned himself in Friday to face charges that he beat her outside a hotel earlier this week. He was later released on bond but ordered to have no contact with his wife. Thomas W. Weeks III, known to his followers as Bishop Weeks, was accompanied by his lawyer when he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail, said Atlanta Police spokesman James Polite. Weeks was photographed and fingerprinted, then released on $40,000 bond after a brief hearing with the condition that he have no contact with his wife or her sister. He faces charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats following a confrontation in which police say he left his estranged wife badly bruised. Officer Ronald Campbell said earlier this week that during an argument outside a hotel, Weeks choked Bynum, then "pushed her down to the ground and started to kick her and also stomp on her." A hotel employee intervened and pulled Weeks off of her, he said. Bynum met with authorities Thursday to press the charges against Weeks. In a statement released by her publicist, Bynum said she was recovering from her injuries. Bynum is a former hairdresser and flight attendant who became a Pentecostal evangelist, author and gospel singer. Her ministry blossomed after she preached at a singles event about breaking free of sexual promiscuity. Among her books are "No More Sheets: The Truth About Sex" and "Matters of the Heart." Her album "A Piece of My Passion" had been listed in the top 10 gospel albums by Billboard magazine for several months. She also preaches through televised sermons. Weeks is the founder of Global Destiny churches. The couple married in 2002. Together, they wrote "Teach Me How to Love You: The Beginnings."

12 Aug 2007

Sin Chew

Malaysia: First Openly Gay Pastor Holds Controversial Church Service Updated:2007-08-12 15:31:07 MYT KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Malaysia's first openly gay Christian pastor conducted a controversial worship service Sunday (August 12th), calling on mainstream churches not to discriminate against homosexuals. Rev. Ouyang Wen Feng _ an ethnic Chinese Malaysian who was ordained a minister in the United States in May _ told a congregation of nearly 80 people, mainly homosexual men and women, to "reclaim our faith and celebrate our sexuality." "For some of us, especially our gay brothers and sisters, we have experienced firsthand that Christianity has been used to persecute minorities," Ouyang said during the service in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. Ouyang, 37, has sparked concerns among Malaysian Christian community leaders after he recently declared that he hopes to set up a church in this predominantly Muslim nation, which has large Christian, Buddhist and Hindu minorities. A church that accepts homosexual relationships would face stiff opposition from both Muslim and Christian conservatives in Malaysia.

Although homosexuality is not specifically a crime in this Southeast Asian country, it is covered under a law prohibiting sodomy, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and whipping."For so long, we've been quiet," Ouyang said Sunday (August 12th). "We've been brought up to believe that they were right and we were wrong. But today, we're making history. We're here to tell Malaysians that we're all children of God." Ouyang has worked at the Metropolitan Community Church in New York, which tries to serve homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals. He has said he wants to return to Malaysia permanently within the next few years. Rev. Wong Kin Kong, secretary general of Malaysia's National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, reportedly said last week that Ouyang's plans to preside over a Sunday service and start a church has stirred anxiety "because Christians do not want others to assume they condone such a thing." Ouyang claimed he and the organizers of his Kuala Lumpur service _ which is considered one of the first steps toward establishing a church _ "received very nasty" phone text messages. Worshippers at the service, including people from neighboring Singapore, hugged each other and sang hymns with lyrics such as, "With justice as our aim, a queer and righteous people united in Christ's name." Ouyang went to the United States in 1998 and studied sociology and theology. He lives with his partner, an American.

12 Aug 2007

Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Angel Ayala sat in the second row of people, watching with pride as his partner Rev Ou Yang Wen Feng calmly led the faithful through a two-hour Sunday service at a hotel here. And through it all, Ou Yang, a self-confessed gay pastor knew he was not alone because of Ayala's presence. “He has been very supportive and it was important to know that I was not alone,” Ou Yang said in an interview yesterday after the service attended by about 100 people. He said it was important to show other gay people that it was possible to come out together, and to heterosexuals that gay relationships were not just about sex but about “spiritual and emotional love.” The pair has been together for four-and-a-half years and hope to marry when same sex marriages are legalised in New York. Ayala, a finance manager said he supported Ou Yang’s plan to set up a church in Malaysia. Ou Yang, 37, is a Malaysian pastor who serves at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in New York. He is also currently pursuing his doctorate at Boston University. He hopes to set up an MCC branch here in 2010, before which, friends would help him start a cell group that he said was open to all regardless of their sexual orientation. Earlier during a press conference, Ou Yang, when asked about opposition from other churches in Malaysia, said as a Christian minister, he would pray for them. The service also saw Metropolitan Community Churches founder Bishop Troy D. Perry giving a sermon. Also present was his partner of over 22 years, Phillip De Blieck. Perry said he was thankful for having De Blieck as he was that “special someone” who was there for him through good and bad times. They married under Canadian law at the MCC of Toronto in 2003 and hope to get the marriage recognised by the California State Supreme Court by this year. Perry believed the church would be a blessing for the gay and lesbian communities in Malaysia. He also spoke of his promise to his partner that he would stand by him, when De Blieck was diagnosed with HIV two decades ago. When asked about his former heterosexual marriage and his two sons, Perry said he was in contact with one of his sons and is a grandfather of three. De Blieck, 43, said his “greatest gift” to the world and the church was to always be supportive of Perry’s work. “When I met Troy, I did not know who he was. And I think one reason Troy fell in love with me was because he knew I was interested in him as a person and not the title,” he said.
10 Aug 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: A controversy has erupted among the Christian community over what they claim is an attempt by a self-confessed gay pastor to set up a church here. For the past week, protest e-mail and SMSes have been sent to Rev Ou Yang Wen Feng, a Malaysian pastor who serves at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in New York. He has been back here for about a week. According to the MCC homepage, the church is part of an international movement of Christian churches reaching out to all, including homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals. Ou Yang, 37, has drawn much flak from Christians for his plan to hold a Sunday service at a hotel this week. He came out of the closet about his homosexuality last year and is said to be the first pastor in Malaysia to do so. A columnist in Sin Chew Daily, Ou Yang went to further his studies in the United States on the daily’s scholarship in the 90s. When contacted yesterday, Ou Yang said he was merely trying to set up a church “where everybody felt safe and welcomed”. It is unfair to label it a gay church, he said, adding that the hate-mail had hurt him. “This church is not limited to gays but serves all people. This will be an active church. We have so many community-centred plans, such as assisting the poor, charity work and upholding justice,” he said. Ou Yang noted that the New York church served food to 5,000 homeless people and hoped to launch similar programmes here. He plans to return to Malaysia for good in 2010. He credits his former wife for giving him strength to be true to himself, acknowledging that she had endured much anguish during their seven-year, childless union. Asked if his church would solemnise same sex marriages, he replied: “Same sex marriages are illegal in Malaysia, so how can I perform them? However, I will bless the union.” Ou Yang said that his talk in Penang last week received much opposition from “faceless parties”. However, the talk saw a full house of about 200 people instead of the initial estimate of 60. “Many are just curious about me. They ask me many things about homosexuality and my life. They just want to know more and not to be converted by me,” he said. The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia secretary-general Rev Wong Kin Kong, when contacted, acknowledged the proposed worship on Sunday had sowed anxiety among Christians. “One of the reasons for the emotional reaction is because Christians do not want others to assume they condone such a thing,” said Wong. He added that the churches could not accept Ou Yang’s version of the church because “it is clear that the Bible prohibits a sexual relationship between people of the same sex. If a person condones same sex marriages, it is definitely violating Christian principles.” Wong said the churches had always welcomed all kinds of people, including homosexuals. “It is the deviant sexual behaviour we do not condone. We cannot stop him wanting to set up such a kind of church, but the evangelical churches will inform followers of our stand and advise them not to follow this teaching,” he said.
23 July 2007 LONDON (Reuters) - Archbishop of York John Sentamu warned Anglican conservatives on Monday that boycotting a church summit next year means they will effectively expel themselves from the worldwide communion. American liberals, who sparked the row in the first place by ordaining an openly gay bishop, have locked horns with conservatives from Africa and Asia who represent at least a third of the world's 77 million Anglicans. Conservatives in the so-called "Global South" signaled after a meeting in London earlier this month that they were unlikely to attend next year's meeting of the Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly gathering of Anglican leaders."It is impossible for us to see how, without discipline in the communion and without the reconciliation that we urge, we can participate in the proposed conference," they said. That provoked a sharp response on Monday from Sentamu, one of the closest allies of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the Anglican church."Anglicanism has its roots through Canterbury," Sentamu told The Daily Telegraph. He warned rebellious conservatives: "If you sever that link you are severing yourself from the communion. There is no doubt about it." Sentamu, a former judge in Uganda who was forced to flee the Idi Amin regime, said: "I want to warn people -- don't spend the next century trying to find a way back." "They would be the ones voting with their feet and saying, as far as we are concerned, we are the true Anglicans. Drawing up the list of Lambeth attendees, Rowan Williams did not invite two American bishops, Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns. Robinson, who is gay, has caused divisions since he was consecrated as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. The deeply conservative Minns was installed last year as the head of a new Nigerian-based church branch in the United States designed as a refuge for orthodox believers. The Anglican communion does not recognize his position. Williams has battled -- largely in vain -- to placate the warring camps and bemoaned what many see as an Anglican obsession with sex. In an interview last month with Time Magazine, Williams said of his church: "It feels very vulnerable and fragile, perhaps more so than it's been for a very long time." But he still insisted that, despite facing one of the gravest threats in the 450-year-old history of the Anglican Church, "I don't think schism is inevitable."
18 July 2007 A gay man has won his case for unlawful discrimination after he was refused a youth official's job by a Church of England bishop. The employment tribunal said John Reaney, 42, was discriminated against "on grounds of sexual orientation" by the Hereford diocesan board of finance. Mr Reaney, from Colwyn Bay, Conwy, said he was "delighted" at the decision. The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis, said he was "naturally disappointed" and may appeal. During the tribunal in Cardiff in April, Mr Reaney said he was questioned by Bishop Priddis on his previous gay relationship during a two-hour meeting on 19 July 2006 It came after he was told he had emerged as the outstanding candidate for the job during an eight-man interview, the hearing heard. Mr Reaney, whose case was supported by Stonewall, also told the tribunal he was left "very embarrassed and extremely upset" following the meeting and said he felt like "a total waste of space". During his evidence, Bishop Priddis said he had made clear to Mr Reaney that a person in a committed sexual relationship outside of marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would be turned down for the post. But the tribunal found that the bishop should only have considered the present lifestyle of Mr Reaney, who is single, and he should have not questioned his future relationships. Delivering the judgement, the tribunal said the case would now be listed for a remedy hearing. "The respondents discriminated against the claimant on the grounds of sexual orientation," said the judgement. Mr Reaney, who had already worked in two other Anglican dioceses, where he had been praised for his achievements, said he was delighted.
17 July 2007 British actor Ian McKellen on Tuesday urged tightly-governed Singapore to loosen up and repeal its archaic laws barring homosexual acts. The openly gay McKellen indicated the laws, which are remnants of British colonial rule, may affect a vibrant business city like Singapore, which is vying with other Asian cities to draw more foreign talent and professionals. McKellen was in Singapore as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's world tour to stage William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" at the Esplanade, Southeast Asia's most modern performing arts centre. "Just treat us with respect like we treat everybody else and the world will be a better place, I think," McKellen said in a live interview on the Class 95 radio station, part of the state-linked MediaCorp group."Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind... it's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay," he said. In a separate interview on MediaCorp's Channel News Asia television station, the 68-year-old McKellen said: "I have been looking for a gay bar (in Singapore) if there is such a thing... so that's what I have been looking for." Homosexual acts are still outlawed in Singapore under laws dating back to British colonial days, despite the city-state's being one of Asia's most advanced economies. Singapore has in recent years eased social restrictions in a bid to shake off its reputation as a culturally sterile and ultra-conservative society.
15 July 2007
LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of people who claim they were abused by clergy affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles can expect to be paid more than $1 million each in a $660 million settlement of their lawsuits. The deal, by far the largest settlement in the church's sexual abuse scandal, was reached Saturday, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff's attorney.The archdiocese, America's largest, and the plaintiffs were set to release a statement Sunday morning and hold a news conference Monday, he said. An anonymous source with knowledge of the deal placed its value at $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church's sexual abuse scandal. The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced. The amount, which would average a little more than $1.3 million per plaintiff, exceeded earlier reports that the settlement would be between $600 million and $650 million. Some Roman Catholic orders — the Servites, Claretians and Oblates — will be carved out of the agreement because they refused to participate, the source said. The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, Boucher said. The settlements push the total amount paid out by the U.S. church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese. It wasn't immediately clear how the payout would be split among the insurers, the archdiocese and several Roman Catholic religious orders. A judge must sign off on the agreement. The release of the priest documents was important to the agreement, Boucher said, because it could reveal whether archdiocesan leaders were involved in covering up for abusive priests."Transparency is a critical part of this and of all resolutions," he said. Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the archdiocese, did not immediately return a call seeking comment late Saturday. Previously, he said the church would be in court on Monday. Plaintiff Steven Sanchez, who was expected to testify in the first trial, said he was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. He sued the archdiocese claiming abuse by the late Rev. Clinton Hagenbach, who died in 1987.
15 July 2007
A PEOPLE'S Action Party MP yesterday spoke out against the non-review of the law banning homosexual sex. Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Baey Yam Keng said if it comes to a vote in Parliament, he would say 'yes' to doing away with the law which makes it illegal for men to have sex with other men. He was joined by Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong who had previously made public his opposition to Section 377A of the Penal Code which bans homosexual sex. Both were members of a forum panel yesterday that included gay activist Alex Au, founder of gay media company Fridae Stuart Koe, and Methodist church leader Reverend Yap Kim Hao. They were discussing the legislation with about 100 participants. When the Home Affairs Ministry proposed changes to the Penal Code last year, it said it would retain the ban on acts of 'gross indecency' between men. One participant, academic Russell Heng, 56, asked Mr Baey for his position if Parliament took a vote on this issue. He said he would vote to repeal the law, a response which drew loud applause. Explaining his stand, Mr Baey drew an analogy between homosexual sex and drinking or smoking. 'There should be a distinction between what the Government wants to discourage, and what it wants to criminalise, ' he said. 'The Government can make it more difficult to access drinking and smoking, but you are still allowed to drink and smoke. So, you can discourage homosexual sex without criminalising it.' He believed the Whip should be lifted if Parliament were to debate this issue. But he conceded that - from his understanding - not many MPs would share his views on decriminalising homosexual sex. Lifting the Whip means MPs can vote according to their convictions, and do not have to toe the party line. But Mr Baey emphasised that he did not think this issue would be decided through public consensus. 'From what I understand of how the Government works, I don't think the Government will make a decision based on a survey...The Government would want to make its own stand and position on issues like this,' he said. Changing the law would require 'some progressive thinking and also people who are able to influence the Cabinet's thinking'. Thus, recent remarks by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew were welcome, he added. 'We should be happy he made those remarks, and that will pave the way for some change in the thinking of the current Government.' In an interview with Berita Harian published two weeks ago, MM Lee said the Government should not act like moral policemen, 'prying on consenting adults'. He also reiterated his view that homosexuals 'were mostly born that way', but also recognised that Singapore is a conservative society and cannot go as far as some countries that recognise gay marriage. Yesterday's forum also touched on issues about the gay community and what the religious view on the matter was. Offering his view, Rev Yap said: 'Contrary to the majority of the Christian views... I personally would call for it to be repealed on the basis that this is God's purpose - the existence of the homosexual community... We know there will always be a proportion of the population, generation after generation, who will be homosexual, and they are created by the heterosexuals. '
11 July 2007 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. David Vitter apologized to anyone he disappointed after telephone records linked him to an escort service operated by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, aka the "D.C. Madam." The Louisiana Republican said in a Monday statement that he told his wife several years ago about a "serious sin" and she forgave him. "Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way," he said. Vitter's phone number turned up in phone records for Pamela Martin & Associates -- a business Palfrey has called an "erotic fantasy service" -- and Vitter's statement claims he did business with Palfrey's company before he ran for the Senate in 2004. Palfrey's attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, said he was surprised by Vitter's admission "because we don't really know who is on the list." Vitter, 46, has been serving in Washington since 1999, when he won a special election for a House seat vacated by Rep. Robert Livingston Jr. He was re-elected to the post twice before setting his sights on the Senate. In 2004, the New Orleans native won the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux, making him the first Republican senator from Louisiana since Reconstruction. A staunch conservative, Vitter disavowed same-sex unions during his 2004 campaign, boasting that he had co-authored and fought for the Federal Marriage Amendment. He further vowed to protect "the sanctity of marriage." "This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history, and our two U.S. senators won't do anything about it," he said in a statement on his campaign Web site. "We need a U.S. senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts values
10 July 2007 LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church. On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II. Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition. In the latest document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II's ecumenical intent, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been "erroneous or ambiguous" and had prompted confusion and doubt. It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, "Dominus Iesus," which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the "means of salvation." In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy's Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position."Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," the document said. The other communities "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense" because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles.
05 July 2007 The head of the Anglican Church in Nigeria says that his 120-plus bishops will boycott next year’s Lambeth Conference unless the US Church halts its liberal agenda. In an interview with The Times published today, Dr Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria and Archbishop of Abuja, says that he has lost faith that the Episcopal Church of the United States, which precipitated a schism with the ordination of the gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003, will ever listen to the conservative evangelical leaders of the Global South churches of Africa and Asia. His nearly 130 bishops meet in September to decide whether to attend the conference, the ten-yearly meeting of the Anglican Communion’s 800 bishops. Other provinces in the Global South grouping are also expected to vote soon on whether to boycott Lambeth, in the first formal mark of schism in the Anglican Church. The failure of Nigeria to attend Lambeth would be a severe blow to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who has always said that unity was his priority in trying to resolve the battle between evangelicals and liberals over homosexuality. The Church of England General Synod, which meets this weekend, will debate the new “covenant” drawn up to try to reach worldwide agreement on a common doctrine. Dr Akinola, who heads the fastest-growing Church in the Anglican Communion, with nearly 20 million practising Anglicans, said that the American Church had failed to act on repeated pleadings from the Church’s 38 primates to halt their agenda. “All we are saying is, do not celebrate what the Bible says is wrong.” He added: “The Church in the West cannot pull us by the nose. If you are going to interpret the Bible in your own way, good luck to you. But without us.” For Nigeria to attend Lambeth, the Archbishop of Canterbury would also have to invite the English-born bishop Martyn Minns, consecrated by Dr Akinola to serve as a missionary bishop to conservatives in the US. Sources in London told The Times that Bishop Minns would not be invited, even as a guest. In contrast, the same sources said that Bishop Robinson was to be invited in a nonvoting capacity. He will be able to speak at meetings at the conference.
04 July 2007 The floods that have devastated swathes of the country are God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society, according to senior Church of England bishops.One diocesan bishop has even claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, have provoked God to act by sending the storms that have left thousands of people homeless. While those who have been affected by the storms are innocent victims, the bishops argue controversially that the flooding is a result of Western civilisation's decision to ignore biblical teaching. The Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle, argued that the floods are not just a result of a lack of respect for the planet, but also a judgment on society's moral decadence. "This is a strong and definite judgment because the world has been arrogant in going its own way," he said. "We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation, as well as the environmental damage that we have caused." The bishop, who is a leading evangelical, said that people should heed the stories of the Bible, which described the downfall of the Roman empire as a result of its immorality. "We are in serious moral trouble because every type of lifestyle is now regarded as legitimate," he said. "In the Bible, institutional power is referred to as 'the beast', which sets itself up to control people and their morals. Our government has been playing the role of God in saying that people are free to act as they want," he said, adding that the introduction of recent pro-gay laws highlighted its determination to undermine marriage."The sexual orientation regulations [which give greater rights to gays] are part of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where we are liable for God's judgment, which is intended to call us to repentance." He expressed his sympathy for those who have been hit by the weather, but said that the problem with "environmental judgment is that it is indiscriminate".

29 June 2007
Leaders of ex-gay programs apologized to LGBT people in a press conference and called on other leaders to do the same By Michelle Garcia. As the director of an ex-gay ministry in Hayward, Calif., Darlene Bogle appeared on shows like Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, and 48 Hours to tell people that being gay is "curable." She wrote several articles and two books—Long Road to Love and Strangers in a Christian Land—about being an ex-gay and held workshops on the subject. In 1990, Bogle met Des, who was attending one of her ex-gay workshops, and sensed instantly that God bought them together. Within weeks Bogle was asked to step down from her leadership position at the Foursquare Church and she was removed from the Exodus ministry. Bogle, joined by former ex-gay ministers Jeremy Marks and Michael Bussee, held a press conference on June 27 at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center with Soulforce and Beyond Ex-Gay to apologize for exposing LGBT Christians to such indoctrination. The press conference and apology precedes the Ex-Gay Survivor's Conference in Irvine, Calif., this weekend. Beyond Ex-Gay and Soulforce partnered with the University of California, Irvine's LGBT Resource Center to sponsor the conference with workshops, speeches, and entertainment. "Although we acted in good faith, we have since witnessed the isolation, shame, fear, and loss of faith that this message creates," Bussee said, speaking for the group. "We apologize for our part in the message of broken truth we spoke on behalf of Exodus and other organizations. " Bussee, the cofounder of Exodus International, said that he was a devout evangelical who started the ex-gay movement in the 1970s out of his own self-hate. Eventually he and another cofounder, Gary Cooper, left the group and their wives to be together and happy. He has been critical of Exodus ever since. In 1986, Marks became a member of a ministry in the United Kingdom where he met other gay Christians mired in the same struggle to be straight. He headed several ex-gay programs, including Courage U.K., and later became president of Exodus International Europe. By 2000, Marks abandoned the ex-gay theories and transformed Courage U.K. into a gay-affirming evangelical ministry.
24 June 2007 Canadian Anglicans voted against blessing same-sex unions late Sunday afternoon. Church delegates voted on the issue at their general assembly or synod in Winnipeg. Earlier in the day, delegates voted in favour of a motion decreeing that blessing the unions does not violate core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada. But another motion, which would have allowed individual dioceses to choose whether to perform the blessing, was rejected by the bishops of the church late Sunday afternoon. Supporters and opponents of same sex blessings called the decisions confusing. "It is a very confusing message to be sending. It's taking with one hand and giving with the other," said Chris Aimbidge, President of Integrity Canada, a lobby group that supports same-sex blessings. Cheryl Chang, a spokeswoman for Anglican Essentials, a group lobbying against same-sex blessings, said she believes confused and frustrated parishioners will start finding other churches immediately. "People [will] leave to go to the Catholic church, the Baptist church, the Pentecostal church. That's going to happen starting next Sunday, or next Monday even," Chang said. "These are decisions that are very confusing for the church, and ultimately, very divisive." Both resolutions were widely supported by both clergy and laity in Sunday's votes, but needed the support of the bishops in order to pass. The bishops narrowly accepted the resolution on doctrine by just two votes. However, when it came to allowing same-sex blessing ceremonies, the bishops voted 21 to 19 against the idea. Though the church hasn't approved the practice, observers say the foundation has been laid for same-sex blessings in Canada.
14 June 2007 BOSTON, June 14 — Same-sex marriage will continue to be legal in Massachusetts, after proponents in both houses won a pitched months-long battle on Thursday to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. “In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure,” Gov. Deval Patrick said after the legislature voted 151 to 45 against the amendment, which needed 50 favorable votes to come before voters in a referendum in November 2008. The vote means that opponents would have to start from Square 1 to sponsor a new amendment, which could not get on the ballot before 2012. Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, although five states allow civil unions or the equivalent. Thursday’s victory for same-sex marriage was not a foregone conclusion, especially after the amendment won first-round approval from the previous legislature in January, with 62 lawmakers supporting it. As late as a couple of hours before the 1 p.m. vote on Thursday, advocates on both sides of the issue said they were not sure of the outcome. The eleventh-hour decisions of several legislators to vote against the amendment followed intensive lobbying by the leaders of the House and Senate and Governor Patrick, who, like most members of the legislature, is a Democrat. “I think I am going to be doing a certain number of fund-raisers for districts, and I am happy to do that,” said Mr. Patrick, who said he had tried to persuade lawmakers not only that same-sex marriage should be allowed but also that a 2008 referendum would be divisive and distract from other important state issues. About 8,500 same-sex couples have married in Massachusetts since the unions became legal in May 2004. In December 2005, opponents, led by the Massachusetts Family Institute, gathered a record 170,000 signatures for an amendment banning same-sex marriage, a measure that was supported by Mr. Patrick’s predecessor, Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican who is now running for president. Kris Mineau, president of the institute, did not indicate on Thursday whether opponents would start a new petition drive, but said, “We’re not going away.”
29 May 2007 Pro-gay rights attitudes have reached high points this year, according to a new poll, with more Americans expressing tolerance. Today, 57 percent of the American public believes homosexuality should be sanctioned as an acceptable alternative lifestyle – the highest the Gallup Poll has recorded since 1982. Also indicating higher tolerance, 59 percent of Americans believe homosexual relations should be legal. The Gallup Poll has recorded a general increase over the past 20 years of those who believe homosexual relations should be legal. The statistic reached an all-time high in May 2003 at 60 percent but then fell to 50 percent in July of that year and has remained level through 2005. A June 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas law banning homosexual sodomy appeared to have produced a backlash of public opposition to gay rights, the Gallup report noted. The leveled trend began rising again last year with 56 percent saying homosexual relations should be legal and today, the statistic is nearly at the record 60 percent mark. Revealing a long-term increase in pro-gay rights attitudes, 46 percent (up from 27 percent in 1996) believe same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid with the same rights as traditional marriages. And the percentage of those who say they should not be recognized by the law as valid fell from 68 percent in 1996 to 53 percent today. On the question of morality, Americans were found to be nearly evenly divided. Since 2001, the percentage of those who say homosexual relations are morally acceptable has increased from 40 percent to 47 percent. And for the first time in the 21st century, less than the majority of Americans say homosexual relations are morally wrong (49 percent). Last year, 51 percent said such relations are morally wrong.
27 May 2007

SIN Chew Daily and China Press highlighted the ordination of Malaysian Ou Yang Wen Feng as a pastor of Metropolitan Community Church, New York.  China Press reported yesterday that Ou Yang, 37, came out of the closet last year and disclosed that he was gay. He is said to be the first pastor in Malaysia to do so, the daily said.  The daily quoted Ou Yang as saying that it had been his dream to become a pastor one day.  “Since I was 17 years old, I was already preaching in churches,” the daily quoted him as saying.  According to Sin Chew Daily, Ou Yang went to further his studies in the United States on the daily's scholarship in the 90s. Ou Yang is a guest columnist at the daily.  

26 May 2007 Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called on Africa's Anglican church to overcome its "obsession" with the issue of gay priests and same-sex marriages. He said they should spend time on more pressing issues in the region. Speaking to the BBC World Service, the South African bishop said Zimbabwe, HIV/Aids and the crisis in Darfur were not getting sufficient attention. Zimbabwe's Anglican church also lacked courage to stand up to President Robert Mugabe's regime, he said. 'So many issues' This was the 76-year-old Nobel peace laureate touching raw nerves for the Anglican church in Africa on very sensitive subjects. In his usual forthright manner, Archbishop Tutu told the BBC that the Anglican communion was spending too much of its time and energy on debating differences over gay priests and same sex marriages - a subject, he said, that had now become "an extraordinary obsession". He said: "We've, it seems to me, been fiddling whilst as it were our Rome was burning. At a time when our continent has been groaning under the burden of HIV/Aids, of corruption. "There are so many issues crying out for concern and application by the church of its resources, and here we are, I mean, with this kind of extraordinary obsession." For Archbishop Tutu, the crisis in Zimbabwe was one such issue that had been eclipsed