Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga made their first public appearance since being released from prison and granted a full pardon last Saturday from a sentence of 14 years with hard labour after being convicted of unnatural acts and gross indecency by Malawi President Mutharika. In a statement, the couple said “The president has demonstrated that he is a caring father, a considerate and tolerant president. We wish him good health in his everyday endeavours as he continues leading the country to respecting human rights and to economic prosperity.” The couple also asked for privacy, saying that “so much has been said and written about us, both positive and negative. We think this is the time for us to be given an opportunity to enjoy our freedom.” On Wednesday, President Mutharika demanded that Malawians stop talking about the couple’s “satanic wedding.” “I don’t want to hear anyone commenting on them,” he said. “Nobody is authorised to comment on the gays. You will spoil things.” He then explained that the gay couple’s intention to marry was “satanic because they committed a crime against a culture, against our religion and against our laws.” He decided to pardon the two because “to err is human and to forgive is divine.”
In Portland, Oregon, protestors from the rabidly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church descended outside Grant High School, in the city’s northeast, before morning classes began. Paulette Phelps said “This is our future, if we’re going to have any future. And these children have been taught rebellion by their parents from birth. They deserve a chance to hear the truth of God.” That truth apparently is that “God Hates Fags” and that “God Hates Jews.” The WBC group was met with a dozen or so counter-protesters and by 7:30 am both quietly dispersed.
A committee is to meet Thursday at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, to determine whether the private Catholic school should cancel a course on gay marriage that is scheduled for the fall. The meeting comes after Newark Archbishop John J. Myers released a statement in May contending that the course “is not in sync with Catholic teaching.” The elective course, offered through the Department of Women’s Studies, is designed to examine the social and political issues that surround gay marriage throughout history without advocating either for or against. To date, 20 students have registered for the 25 seat class. It is to be taught by W. King Hall, an associate professor of political science who happens to be one of the few openly gay instructors on campus. The conceit of academic freedom is at issue, obviously, and whether church doctrine, which opposes gay marriage, can be debated in a scholarly manner. The meeting is to be held behind closed doors.
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