Month: June 2013

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Croatia Catholic Church forcing people to sign against gay marriage

Gay rights activists have accused the Catholic Church of corruption and manipulating the largely religious public in their fight against equality

By Joe Morgan
Archbishop of Zagreb Josip Bozanić is accused of forcing people to sign a petition against same-sex marriage, encouraging violence, and manipulating children into hating gay people.

archbishop-Josip-BozanicThe Catholic Church in Croatia is corruptly coercing people to sign a petition against same-sex marriage, Gay Star News can exclusively reveal.

Over 710,000 people have signed the petition – over one fifth of the population of the Eastern European country – demanding the government change the constitution to say marriage is defined as between a man and a woman.

But gay rights activists have accused the Catholic Church of immorally manipulating the public into signing their names to oppose same-sex marriage and also of encouraging violence.

If a straight couple wants to be married in a church, or have their child baptized or attend a Catholic school, in many places they are being told they must sign the petition demanding a referendum to ban same-sex marriage in Croatia.

As over 85% of people are Catholic, the religion is deeply embedded in the Croatian culture.

Marko Jurčić, anti-discrimination coordinator for Zagreb Pride, spoke exclusively to Gay Star News about how the Catholic Church is using a ‘fear of change’ to take away human rights.

As Croatia readies itself to join the European Union on 1 July, there have been protests fearing the country will lose its identity like when it was part of Yugoslavia.

Jurčić believes it started when the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, the largest central-left party, took power in 2011.

When the party revealed their plans for unions for gay couples – ‘life partnerships’ – as well as sex education in schools and artificial insemination for single women, the Catholic Church struck back.

Josip Bozanić, the Archbishop of Zagreb, declared ‘war’ against the ‘radical liberalization’ of Croatia.

He successfully got the Constitutional Court to rule children should not be taught sex education in schools, saying it was a ‘violation of parent’s rights’.

Campaign group In the Name of the Family was set up to combat same-sex marriage.

Around 6,000 volunteers have been gathering signatures in over 2,000 locations in the last month. They have denied having backing from the Catholic Church.

Jurčić said it was not the first time a religious ‘war’ against LGBT equality has happened in Europe.

‘It started in France, and [the Catholic Church] lost there. Imagine what is happening east of Croatia!

‘It’s a new war they’re creating. One side is secular, the other religious.’

Jurčić described, after this happened, how there was an increase in hate crime as there were homophobic ‘signs and billboards and places to sign [the anti-gay] petition everywhere.’

He said: ‘People have been recognized by their gender expression or their sexuality and been beaten up. It’s a horrific atmosphere.

‘It has happened especially in Zagreb as there is a growing scene there. A lot of LGBT people have come to the capital looking for a haven, but they have been met with vicious attacks.’

He also alleged the Catholics started religious classes for children to teach them to hate gay, bi and trans people.

Jurčić said he was ‘furious’ by the treatment to the LGBT community especially as there were improvements in the last decade.

‘We’re not afraid. We have experienced a lot of change in this country since 2002, and we are all a part of the movement.

‘We changed the face of this country. It’s frustrating, it’s empowering how people have come out, how many public figures have supported us.’

The anti-gay petition will be handed to the Croatian government on Friday (14 June), a day before Zagreb Pride.

Zoran Milanovic, Croatia’s social democrat prime minister, has admitted there ‘probably ought to be referendum, provided all the preconditions are met.’

To amend the constitution, there must be a parliamentary majority of two thirds.

Jurčić hopes Saturday’s Pride will be an antidote, a breath of fresh air against the Catholic Church’s corruption.

‘Our role is to empower LGBT people who are being threatened in the hostile environment,’ he said. ‘We will continue to empower them, but the problem is the damage has already been done.’

When contacted by Gay Star News, the Croatian Catholic Church chose not to comment.

Complete Article HERE!

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Gay Drag, BAD! Ecclesiastical Drag, GOOD!

And now, boys and girls, a Public Service Announcement, brought to you by your friendly local bishop. Today’s lesson, just in time for Same Sex Attraction (Gay) Pride Month — What’s good drag and what’s bad drag? Please pay attention.

First up, some BAD drag.

(Click on the thumbnail images for a slideshow.)

Now, some GOOD drag.

(Click on the thumbnail images for a slideshow.)

Let’s do that again, shall we?

First, some BAD drag.

(Click on the thumbnail images for a slideshow.)

Now, some GOOD drag.

(Click on the thumbnail images for a slideshow.)

Okay, boys and girls, let’s review.

Men in dresses with an arrogant attitude and flamboiant makeup. = BAD!

Men in dresses with an arrogant attitude, without flamboiant makeup, but lots and lots of bling. = GOOD!

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St. Andrew’s Catholic Parish will carry banner in Portland’s Pride Parade

File under: When the people lead the leaders will have to follow.

By Nancy Haught

Parishioners from St. Andrew Catholic Church, which has a longstanding commitment to social justice issues, will march in Sunday’s Portland Pride Parade with a banner proclaiming their parish identity, despite the wishes of Archbishop Alexander K. Sample.

St. Andrew Catholic ChurchAt least four Catholic parishes are expected to participate in the parade, according to the Rev. Tara Wilkins, executive director of the Community of Welcoming Congregations. Members of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Philip Neri and St. André Bessette (the Downtown Chapel) also are expected to march. In the past, they have carried parish banners, Wilkins said.

Monsignor Dennis O’Donovan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Portland, called St. Andrew’s pastor, the Rev. Dave Zegar, on May 31 on behalf of Sample, parishioners say. O’Donovan relayed the message that individuals could walk in the parade but that the archbishop did not want St. Andrew’s members to walk as a community.

Sample, who was installed as archbishop April 2, is in San Diego to attend the annual summer meeting of United States bishops, according to Bud Bunce, spokesman for the archdiocese. He could not be reached for comment.

Bunce confirmed that O’Donovan had made the phone call. While the archdiocese respects all people, Bunce said, “this was not an event that St. Andrew’s parish could be in as a parish.”

On June 4, Zegar met with a group of St. Andrew’s parishioners, who decided to stand by their 17-year commitment to Portland’s gay community. At Mass on Sunday, Zegar shared the group’s decision with the congregation, who responded with a standing ovation, according to Tom Karwaki, who chairs the parish’s pastoral council.

The Rev. Steve Newton, a Holy Cross priest who is pastor of St. André Bessette, said no one from the archdiocese had called him about the parade. Parishioners from the Downtown Chapel have walked in the parade for years.

“The Catholic Church supports gay people, even though there is a broad difference of opinion on their lifestyle,” Newton said.

Sample
Darling, where did you get that pretty hat?

At St. Andrew’s on Sunday, a bulletin insert recounted the history of the parish’s welcoming ministry. A formal committee began meeting in 1996. St. Andrew’s helped staff a booth at Portland Pride in 2000, and members began marching with their banner, which reads “Welcoming the Whole Family,” in 2001.

Susan Kelly, a member of St. Andrew’s since 1969, said the move to become a welcoming congregation was partly due to a respected couple within the church who were parents of identical twin girls. The twins “came out” in high school, and their parents agonized over how the church would react. The mother finally confessed to a friend at St. Andrew’s.

“It got us all thinking about how we deal with this issue,” Kelly says. “How can we reach out and get over this Christian – not just Catholic –attitude that if you’re gay or lesbian, you’re not part of the community?”

The official teaching of the Catholic Church is that homosexual acts are contrary to natural law and incompatible with living a Christian life. But 2006 pastoral guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops say the church must welcome homosexuals to full and active participation in the faith. St. Andrew’s bulletin insert quoted the document.

“Essential to the success of ministry to persons with a homosexual inclination will be the support and leadership of the bishop and other pastoral leaders,” the guidelines read. “This is particularly important because more than a few persons with a homosexual inclination feel themselves to be unwelcome and rejected.”

How many feel unwelcome became evident Thursday when the Pew Research Center released the findings of an April survey on the religious attitudes of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender adults. Eight in ten adults said the Catholic Church, along with Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were “unfriendly” to the LGBT community.

Kelly summarized the reasons that parishioners are insisting on carrying their banner in one word: visibility.

Joy Wallace, a member of St. Andrew’s since 1998, says it is common for members of the gay community and their advocates to seek out St. Andrew’s because they’ve seen the parish represented in the annual Pride Parade.

“The banner is important because it says we are a community of faith,” says Jane Braunger, a parish member since the 1980s. “For us not to embrace this statement as a core commitment about openness and acceptance and living the Gospel is cowardly.”

Karwaki said parishioners would like a chance to talk to the archbishop about their ministry and explain their commitment to the Pride Parade. He says Zegar asked for such a dialogue and the parish is drafting a letter to Sample.

“We’re not acting out of disobedience,” Karwaki said. “We’re acting out of obedience to the Gospel and the mission of this parish.”

Complete Article HERE!