Saturday, Dignity San Antonio, a gay Catholic congregation, held a vigil outside of the San Fernando Cathedral, praying for acceptance from fellow Catholics and from church leaders, reports KENS-5. Dignity is the congregation that in October received a letter from the San Antonio, Texas Archdiocese ordering the organization to immediately end their weekly inclusive mass at St. Ann’s Catholic Church after 15 years of offering services specifically for gay Catholics. Fred Anthony Garza, of Dignity San Antonio, said Saturday night “We were baptised by the Catholic church this should be our church. We shouldn’t just be outside it, we should be in it.” Garza is hopeful that this Tuesday’s installation of a new San Antonio archbishop, Gustavo Garcia-Siller, will allow for the ruling to be reversed. “We can begin a dialogue of peace and respect between each other, that way we understand him and he understands us,” said Garza. Many of the parishioners in attendance Saturday at San Fernando Cathedral expressed support for the gay group, and that too gave hope to Garza. “It’s wonderful and refreshing to hear that so many Catholics out there feel that way and we hope that the hierarchy of the church will begin to see that and understand that Jesus loves everyone,” he said.
A report from the Star-Ledger on the supposed controversial course taught twice weekly at Seton Hall University, a private Catholic school, the class formally known as Special Topics in Political Theory: Gay Marriage. The three-credit course caught the attention of Newark Archbishop John J. Myers who questioned why a Catholic school should be teaching students about gay marriage, an issue that the church vigorously opposes. In fact, many assumed that over the summer the class was cancelled, however W. King Mott, an openly gay associate professor was permitted to teach the course over the objections of the church of anti-gay, pro-Catholics protestors, Mott saying that he received threatening, “hate filled e-mail and phone calls” that were specific enough to notify the South Orange New Jersey police, and have school officials briefly place a security guard outside his classroom door. Mott, who is in a civil union with his partner, together the couple raising four daughters, says that the class is structured to examine gay marriage as a public policy issue, and that “No one is demonising gay people.” The class has featured a number of guest lecturers, including Hudson Taylor, an assistant wrestling coach at Columbia University and a straight alley, an activist for gay equality in college sports, who said “It was a great experience to be able to sit down, to really get some insight and perspective on what these kids’ questions are.” Mott says he plans to teach the class again in the fall of 2011 (under Seton Hall regulations, if a special topics class is taught three time, the professor can propose it become a permanent class) and says he would prefer the gay marriage class be offered as long as it remains a national issue. “People can demonise me all they want to,” he said. “The important thing is to examine the idea.”
A new poll conducted by the Age and Nielson reveals that 57-percent of those Australians surveyed support legalising gay marriage, a statistic particular telling of the growing disconnect between Prime Minister Julia Gillard who continues to contend that the Labour party does favour amending that country’s marriage act to expand the definition of marriage as a gender neutral institution.
Steven Bain, an openly gay man, was awarded more than 13,000 pounds at an employment tribunal in Scotland, reports the Daily Record, because he was bullied at work. Mr. Bain, an employee at The Lighthouse in Glasgow, an architecture and design centre, told the tribunal that he was repeatedly asked if he dressed as a woman, and whether he found the words “poof” and “queer” offensive. He also told that when he walked into a room, colleagues would immediately leave, and that they often expressed disgust at his lifestyle. The tribunal, in extending the award, found Bain endured a “hostile” and “degrading” employment environment.
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