Reuters reports that a Vatican diplomat told the United Nations Human Rights Council Tuesday that those who criticise homosexual sexual relations for religious or moral reasons are increasingly being attacked and vilified for their views. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said that the Roman Catholic Church deeply believes that human sexuality is a gift reserved for married heterosexual couples, but he said that those who express these views are faced with "a disturbing trend,” adding that "People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behaviour between people of the same sex. When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature ... they are stigmatized and worse -- they are vilified, and prosecuted. These attacks are violations of fundamental human rights and cannot be justified under any circumstances." The Catholic Church has continually fought with governments over sexual equality legislation. In Britain, it chose to close down adoption services because they refused to allow same sex couples to adopt orphaned children in their care. It has also opposed the growing acceptance of same sex marriage in several countries in Europe and the Americas, including Argentina and Mexico City. Tomasi also said the Vatican believed in the inherent dignity of all human beings and condemned all violence against people because of their sexual orientation or behaviour, but added, oddly, that these “states can and must regulate behaviours, including various sexual behaviours," adding that "Throughout the world, there is a consensus between societies that certain kinds of sexual behaviour must be forbidden by law. Paedophilia and incest are two examples."
Meanwhile, NPR reports that a new report from the Public Religion Research Institute suggests a majority of Catholics are supportive of gay and lesbian rights. The report, released Tuesday, revealed that 43-percent of Catholics support allowing gay and lesbian people to marry, 31-percent support allowing them to form civil unions, and 22-percent said there should be no legal recognition of a gay relationship. The report also found that only 39-percent of respondents believed that the Catholic Church is successfully treating the issue of homosexuality and 56-percent of Catholics believe homosexuality sex is not a sin.
Equality Matters investigates claims made by Chick-fil-A and President Dan Cathy that the self-professed Christian corporation is not “anti-anybody,” let alone anti-gay, and the findings, not surprisingly, contradicts Cathy’s contentions. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company has strong, direct connections to anti-gay organizations like Focus on the Family and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and its charitable division – WinShape - has provided more than $1.1 million to organizations that deliver anti-LGBT messages and promote egregious practices like reparative therapy that seek to "free" people of being gay.
Entertainment Weekly reports that a same sex storyline is in the works at the Days of Our Lives, the magazine reporting that as the daytime drama “celebrates its 45th anniversary in daytime, the traditionally conservative soap is about to get a lot more contemporary: EW has learned exclusively that a gay storyline may be in the works! From what we gather, it may involve a current cast member hooking up with someone new. A show spokeswoman declined to comment. While competing sudsers have been in the forefront when it comes to same-sex couples — ABC’s All My Children, for example, featured the first lesbian character in Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel), which led to the first gay marriage between her and Reese Williams (Tamara Braun) — Days has largely played a backseat role when it comes to featuring gay couplings. Stay tuned!”
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