tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55930994453669161332024-03-13T05:32:26.016+00:00Queering Theology & MinistryExplores questions of faith for lesbian, gay and trans Christians, and celebrates progress towards full LGBT inclusion in church.Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-79436353619860280252013-01-09T19:43:00.001+00:002013-01-09T19:43:59.836+00:00Progressive Catholic Group Ordaining Transgender Priest The North American Old Catholic Church is ordaining Shannon T.L. Kearns, a trans man, later this month. Kearns (right) will be responsible for starting a new parish in Minneapolis.
“The North American Old Catholic Church looks forward to establishing a presence in Minneapolis with the ordination of Father Kearns,” said Bishop Benjamin Evans, who is presiding over the ordination on January 19. “Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-85392172291134130942012-12-29T09:04:00.000+00:002012-12-29T09:52:36.217+00:00Do gays need a church of their own anymore?
Gay-centered church founded in 1960s debates role given recent progress for gay rights
On that Sunday in 1968 when Troy Perry borrowed a minister's robe and started a church for gays in his living room, the world was a very different place.
Perry's Metropolitan Community Churches was then a lone spiritual refuge for openly gay Christians, an idea so far from the mainstream that the Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-49559768362643057292012-12-28T09:59:00.000+00:002012-12-29T10:15:40.021+00:00Response to Benedict: Dutch Gay Catholics De-Baptize Themselves
Thousands of Dutch Catholics are researching how they can leave the church in protest at its opposition to gay marriage, according to the creator of a website aimed at helping them find the information.
Tom Roes, whose website allows people to download the documents needed to leave the church, said traffic on ontdopen.nl - "de-baptise.nl" - had soared from about 10 visits a day to more thanTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-44089697798225239722012-12-18T10:18:00.000+00:002012-12-29T10:21:00.498+00:00
Italian bishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini from Locri-Gerace recognizes that gay couples 'should claim some rights, but they can not ask for marriage'
18 DECEMBER 2012 | BY DANIELE GUIDO GESSA
Photo by DaffyDuke
An Italian Catholic bishop said that ‘same-sex couples should have their civil rights recognized.’ Bishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini, who is in charge of the Locri-Gerace Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-48392455561395122622012-12-14T10:16:00.000+00:002012-12-29T10:16:58.150+00:00
The Rainbow Sash Movement (Lesbian/Gay Catholics) challenges the policy arm of the Catholic Church in Illinois when that Conference makes the claim that it represents nearly 4 million Catholics in the State of Illinois on the issue of Gay Marriage; such a claim is not based in reality.
The Illinois Catholic Conference also states that marriage is unique because it's a Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-50704306991863306752012-03-16T12:42:00.000+00:002012-03-16T12:42:49.177+00:00Episcopalians release same-sex marriage ritesWhile Catholic bishops in the UK and the US are digging in their heels against marriage equality, the American Episcopal church is (very sensibly) looking ahead, to the inevitable day when they will recognize the need to do away with marriage discrimination in their own church (as some local jurisdictions have already done). After several years of study, the Episcopal Church has Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-29342864127639056182012-03-16T11:23:00.000+00:002012-03-16T11:23:44.745+00:00Reform Jews Back Gay Marriage, Denounce Cardinal O'BrienThe Reform movement has branded as "inflammatory" an attack on same-sex marriage by one of Britain's leading Catholic clerics.Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, described plans to legalise gay marriage as "madness" and a "grotesque subvesion".But Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, movement rabbi for Reform Judaism, said that the cardinal's comments were "inflammatory andTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-47658512585494390282012-03-16T11:22:00.000+00:002012-03-16T12:41:00.258+00:00Marriage Amendment -- a Hindu perspectiveIn November, Minnesotans will approve or reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Many belonging to long-established religions in Minnesota have joined the debate over this matter. Jews and Christians, liberal and conservative, have expressed positions.
Our state is home also to significant numbers of people of other world religions, including my own Hindu Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-12626987409634130822012-03-03T18:00:00.001+00:002012-03-03T18:00:07.059+00:00Intersex, Women Bishops, and the Body of ChristThe story of Rev. Sally / Selwyn Gross neatly encapsulates the challenges of intersex people to Roman Catholic rules on the ordination of women. Male-identified at birth, Selwyn was raised as male, and became a Catholic priest. When medical tests revealed that internal biology was primarily female, Sally transitioned - and was forced out of the priesthood.In the Anglican church, there is no Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-33133210228383788152012-02-28T23:22:00.000+00:002012-02-28T23:22:45.059+00:00In Denying Communion at Mother's Funeral, Priest Contravened the CatechismA Catholic priest has refused communion to a lesbian, solely because she is a lesbian - at her mother's funeral. He said to her directly that he did so because she is living with a woman, and that is a sin, according to the church.Communion Denied to Lesbian Woman at Her Mother’s Funeral « Bondings 2.0.The blogosphere has been abuzz with the news that Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, a priest at St. John Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-71301340123254226532012-02-23T16:14:00.001+00:002012-02-26T15:16:55.656+00:00Gay Marriage, and the English Catholic Church: More Sanity From Vincent NicholsArchbishop Vincent Nichols has once again demonstrated sanity and moderation on the place of the Catholic Church in modern society. While there are many loud, outraged voices raised in complaint in the US and in the UK over alleged assaults on religious freedom and of perceived persecution of Christians, Nichols has correctly pointed out that what is happening is not the "persecution" of Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-88803318496240097122012-02-23T15:12:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:13:51.022+00:00"The church, like Jesus, should say 'yes' to new things": GumbletonI think it is most appropriate today to begin our reflection on the Scriptures by focusing especially on the first lesson, where Isaiah is trying to reassure people that God is about to do something new, if only they have the courage to respond to what God is doing. We should remember that these are people who have been driven out of their own city and land. Jerusalem was destroyed and the templeTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-84646097070628050502012-02-20T15:16:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:22:21.784+00:00Remembering Marcella Althaus - Reid, "Indecent Theologian"Theologian Marcella Althaus - Reid died February 20th 2009, after a theological journey that began with the study and practice of liberation theology in the slums of Argentina under the military junta, and ended as Professor of Contextual Theology at Edinburgh University, where her interests included Liberation Theology, Feminist theology and Queer Theology. I have an instinctive personal Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-66316357520392801672012-02-19T15:23:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:24:02.890+00:00On Monday, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire signed into state law the bill providing for legal recognition of same - sex marriages. Bishop Grant Hagiya of the United Methodist Church, was quick to express his support.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if youTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-72980776306613301782012-02-17T15:31:00.001+00:002012-02-26T15:33:02.780+00:00Kentucky "Welcoming Church" Leaves Baptist AssociationIn recent years, progress towards full lgbt inclusion in church has been remarkable, with the appointment of openly gay and lesbian bishops, landmark national decisions by some denominations to remove barriers to ordination for LGBT pastors, and local decisions by individual congregations to conduct same - sex weddings or blessings for queer couples (or to withhold weddings for all couples, untilTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-682495477085802292012-02-17T15:28:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:30:38.030+00:00The Gay Closet as a Place of SinMy colleague Advocatus Diaboli sent me a link some days ago to a post at Jesus in Love, about a new book ("Dark Knowledge", by Kenneth Low) which argues that Jesus was homosexual and sexually active, but closeted - and that was the reason for his trial and execution. AD asked me for my opinion. Before getting to my response, I share some key extracts from Kittredge's post:
“Dark Knowledge” by Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-35546435154931828862012-02-16T15:33:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:34:33.165+00:00Catholic Chaplain: “In this Bethlehem, there’s always room for everyone in the inn.”It may be rare to encounter a multicolored gay pride flag upon entering a church. But Brandeis’ Catholic chaplain, the Rev. Walter Cuenin, proudly displays the rainbow flag in the Bethlehem Chapel’s foyer. With the word “Peace” written across the middle, the flag symbolizes a proclamation of acceptance and unity for each person who may walk through the Bethlehem Chapel’s doors.Cuenin bases his Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-24795694123118790332012-02-15T15:37:00.007+00:002012-02-26T15:40:08.087+00:00"A Catholic Case for Same-sex Marriage": Gramick, DeBernardoThis month in Maryland and the state of Washington, an extraordinary dynamic is playing itself out: Two Catholic governors are prodding legislators to pass bills legalizing same-gender marriage. Like Govs. Andrew Cuomo in New York and Pat Quinn in Illinois — whose states recently legalized same-sex civil unions — Govs. Martin O’Malley and Christine Gregoire are acting against the strongly Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-30440477200870361922012-02-14T15:42:00.001+00:002012-02-26T15:44:06.979+00:0061% of UK Christians back equal rights for gay couples - SurveyThere is extensive evidence that the US is moving to embrace full equality for lesbian and gay couples, and that Catholics are more supportive than the population at large. American Evangelicals though, remain (mostly) hostile. There has not been nearly as much polling for the UK, but a new survey shows even more support than in the US - including from 61% of all Christians.
61% of Christians Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-53389926877747624402012-02-11T15:47:00.002+00:002012-02-26T15:48:26.606+00:00"Blessed Are The Queer in Faith": PreambleFebruary is LGBT History month in the UK. 2012 is also the diamond jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth, who this week marked the 60th anniversary of her accession to the British throne. The jubilee will be the theme of this year's Quest annual conference, "SIXTY GLORIOUS YEARS," for which the two speakers will consider changing attitudes to homosexuality over this period in British society - and in Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-5985602391020240432012-02-10T15:50:00.001+00:002012-02-26T15:52:37.163+00:00Bishops' Hypocrisy on Religious Freedom and Contraception.A headline at the National Catholic Reporter, to an article on thecurrent contraception controversy, states unambiguously, "Catholics unite in opposition to contraception mandate". This is patently untrue. The bishops may have united, and may have the backing of several Catholic agencies and health providers - but the evidence once again, is that ordinary Catholics disagree. The findings of two Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-79938402191320430962012-02-10T15:48:00.001+00:002012-02-26T15:50:01.637+00:00Soho Masses - Supporting Church Teaching.The Sunday after London Pride last year, our Soho Mass was briefly disturbed by an uninvited visitor, making an entirely unauthorized video recording of the proceedings. His recording of the bidding prayers has now surfaced on some conservative Catholic blogs.In a Catholic Herald report, some of the bloggers and others opposed to the Masses have used these as supposed evidence that they exist Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-86842335235852979572012-02-09T15:53:00.000+00:002012-02-26T15:55:10.487+00:00Catholic Bishops, Gay Marriage - and Slavery.At Enlightened Catholicism, Colleen has a post on the Prop 8 ruling and Catholic reaction which used an entirely appropriate picture to illustrate the response of the Catholic bishops:Catholic orthodoxy teaches that the bishops are their to lead the church. The language we use is filled with the imagery of the shepherd, directly and indirectly, as in "pastor", "pastoral" work, and "flock" and Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-81871085914639072212012-02-08T15:56:00.000+00:002012-02-26T16:06:49.956+00:00Religion and Gay Marriage: Reactions to Prop 8 Ruling.[caption id="attachment_21905" align="aligncenter" width="254" caption="Proposition 8 election map"][/caption]
Catholic bishops have been quick to react to yesterday's court ruling that California's Proposition 8 ballot was unconstitutional, speaking of their disappointment at what they see as the "injustice" of the ruling (an ironic choice of words, as it is the business of the courts above all,Terencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5593099445366916133.post-73108920666018809162012-02-07T16:12:00.003+00:002012-02-26T16:13:10.138+00:00Remembering Fr. Howard Hall, Pioneer of Catholic LGBT MinistryFrom a personal recollection by Francis DeBernardo, of New Ways Ministry:
Father Howard Hall, one of the pioneers of LGBT ministry in the Catholic church, has passed away from pancreatic cancer. Fr. Hall was instrumental in developing diocesan ministry to LGBT people in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he was involved in the work of so many of the national Catholic organizations that work for justiceTerencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07504439119402756448noreply@blogger.com0