Catholic Church In The Castro Forced By Archbishop To Rescind Invitation To Three Members Of Clergy To Speak, Bi-Partisan Group Launches Advertisement Defending New Hampshire Same Sex Marriage Law, On Being Gay And Vilified In Uganda, Vito Russo Documentary, George Michael Says He Is “Fortunate” To Still Be Here, Michael Pitt For Prada, Sam Page

Most Holy Redeemer Church, a Catholic parish in the middle of the Castro, in San Francisco, is in trouble again with church leaders over how best to minister to its heavily gay and lesbian congregation. In the latest incident, Archbishop George Niederauer had the church's pastor, the Reverend Steve Meriwether, rescind invitations to a trio of gay-friendly clergy scheduled to speak at a series of pre-Christmas evening services. "The archbishop felt the speakers were inappropriate for the season of Advent, which should be a time to reflect on the coming of Christ," said George Wesolek, a spokesman for the archdiocese. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, there was no comment from the parish, where a church secretary said Meriwether was out on medical leave. The action disappointed, but did not surprise the Reverend Roland Stringfellow, a minister for the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Church, who had been scheduled to speak Wednesday. "It's ironic and hypocritical that the Catholic Church has a 'Come home' ad campaign going on right now," he said. "Clearly, not everyone is welcome within the Catholic Church." The program's first intended speaker, retired Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, echoed those concerns. The decision to bar him and the others from speaking is another indication that the Catholic Church hierarchy's position is that "those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual are less than OK." The Reverend Jane Spahr, a retired Presbyterian minister, was scheduled to speak December 14. She clashed numerous times with her church over same-sex marriage and founded a group for gay Presbyterians. What also bothered Stringfellow was the assumption that because he works with Berkeley's Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, he would give a rousing gay rights sermon that ignored the religious themes of the season of Advent. Stringfellow, who was a grand marshal for the 2011 San Francisco Pride Parade, said he intended to speak on the theme of Christian love and how Christmas can be "incredibly hard" for gays and lesbians estranged from family and friends. "Most congregations invite speakers who can speak well to their community's concerns," he said. "We are all clergy within our own rites and denominations, and we were very disrespected by the idea that we can only give a talk that's about gay rights." The issue of homosexuality is a thorny one for the Catholic Church, which holds that while same sex orientation is acceptable, gay or lesbian sexual activity is not. That means that parishes like Most Holy Redeemer, where it's estimated that a majority of the congregation is made up of gays and lesbians, have to straddle a narrow line between the requirements of their religion and the needs of their parishioners. Most Holy Redeemer, for example, characterizes itself on its website as "an inclusive Catholic community ... regardless of their background, gender, race, social status, gender identity or sexual orientation." Wesolek said, "It's a very delicate pastoral situation. There are a lot of wonderful gays and lesbians who attend Most Holy Redeemer, but there are parameters that must be followed." For many years, there has been almost an attitude of "don't ask, don't tell," between the parish and the archdiocese, with church officials taking notice when concerns are brought to their attention. "Regardless of what people may think, there's not a lot of micromanagement by the archdiocese in regular parish affairs," Wesolek said. "Parishes have all kinds of events and speakers, and this wouldn't be something we are looking for."

A bipartisan group is launching a television ad next week defending New Hampshire's same sex marriage law and urging lawmakers not to vote to repeal it. The Boston Globe reports that the 30 second ad shows people saying New Hampshire believes in freedom for everyone. Standing Up for New Hampshire Families paid for the ad airing on WMUR-TV. The House votes next month on a bill replacing the law with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. The bill would not enact the same civil unions law that was in effect before gays were allowed to marry. That law granted gays all the rights and responsibilities of marriage except in name. The proposed civil unions law would be open to any two adults and would let anyone refuse to recognize the unions.

A must-read opinion piece from The New York Times authored by Frank Mugisha, the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, and the 2011 Robert Kennedy Human Rights Award laureate, on being gay and vilified in the African country. Writes Mugisha, “Many Africans believe that homosexuality is an import from the West, and ironically they invoke religious beliefs and colonial-era laws that are foreign to our continent to persecute us. The way I see it, homophobia — not homosexuality — is the toxic import. Thanks to the absurd ideas peddled by American fundamentalists, we are constantly forced to respond to the myth — debunked long ago by scientists — that homosexuality leads to pedophilia. For years, the Christian right in America has exported its doctrine to Africa, and, along with it, homophobia. In Uganda, American evangelical Christians even held workshops and met with key officials to preach their message of hate shortly before a bill to impose the death penalty for homosexual conduct was introduced in Uganda’s Parliament in 2009. Two years later, despite my denunciation of all forms of child exploitation, David Bahati, the legislator who introduced the bill, as well as Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem and other top government officials, still don’t seem to grasp that being gay doesn’t equate to being a pedophile.”

More than anything, Vito Russo loved the movies, and, reports Reuters, more than 20 years after the gay activist and film historian's death, he is finally starring in one. Entitled simply, Vito, the HBO documentary takes a comprehensive look at the life, loves and battles of the East Harlem native who as a boy eschewed neighbourhood stickball games and navigated his way to Times Square where he would revel in matinees and tap the pulse of the city. As an adult, Russo was a founding member of three pivotal gay rights groups, starting with the Gay Activists Alliance in the early 1970s. He died of AIDS in 1990, age 44. "Vito participated in every significant milestone in the gay liberation movement, from Stonewall to ACT UP," said director Jeffrey Schwartz. "He was right in the middle of everything, every step of the way," adding, “His story is also the story of our community." Vito melds archival footage and interviews of Russo's celebrity and activist friends, such as Lily Tomlin, with film clips of stars including Judy Garland, Shirley MacLaine and Cary Grant. Excerpts from interviews with Russo himself lend a poignant touch. The documentary has been playing festivals in recent months before it airs on HBO in June 2012. A Hollywood Reporter review called it "an emotionally powerful documentary portrait with an impassioned voice that befits its subject." Among the many protests he helped stage that made headlines was one in which Russo and a group of activists descended on New York City officials for a mass marriage, complete with cakes topped by figures of same-sex couples -- decades before gay marriage became a national issue and, in some states, legal. "He was a true visionary," said his brother, Charles. "Same sex marriage, anti-bullying -- these were things he talked about 40 years ago, and they're on the front pages today." Russo also was a key voice in the creation of both ACT UP, the AIDS activist group credited with revolutionizing the federal approval process for new drugs, and the influential gay and lesbian media watchdog, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD. "He saw that changing images through media was more important than changing laws," Charles Russo said. But to many, Russo is perhaps best known as the cinephile author of The Celluloid Closet, which Schwartz calls "the bible of gay film." Russo's 1981 book chronicles the history of depictions of gay people in film, and it was made into an award-winning documentary. The book found its origins in movie nights Russo organized in the early 1970s, when he combined the things he loved -- community and cinema. The formula was simple -- hundreds of gay people and a beloved movie, yielding a night of enthusiastic audience participation during which strangers revelled in shared tastes. At the time, with the Stonewall riots a fresh memory, such gatherings were political acts. For many, these precursors of gay film festivals were a first involvement in gay community. Russo's cousin, Phyllis Antonellis, recalled that for his family, Russo "opened up a world to all of us that we never would have known otherwise." She might just as easily have been talking about the gay men who flocked to Russo's screenings to applaud favourite lines of dialogue with like-minded folk. The Celluloid Closet came out just as AIDS began its devastating, unrelenting march into the lives of many individuals. Seeing entire circles of friends die, Russo returned to his activist roots and devoted himself to education, support and making as much noise as possible. Schwartz sees the street protests of those days, for which Russo pulled together factions from an often-divided community, as forerunners of the present-day Occupy Wall Streeters, which have similarly tapped groups ranging from labour to students.

Singer George Michael has admitted that his recent bout of pneumonia was "touch and go for a while" and was "the worst month of my life.” The BBC reports that the 48-year-old star, who has returned to London following a month-long stay in a Vienna hospital, said he was "very weak" but added he feels "amazing.” In a press conference outside his home, an emotional Michael said he still has "plenty to live for.” He was forced to cancel the remaining 14 dates of his tour after falling ill. Michael acknowledged the gravity of his illness, explaining that the General Hospital in Vienna was "the best place in the world I could have been,” adding, "They spent three weeks keeping me alive, basically... I'm incredibly fortunate to be here. Somebody here still thinks I've got some work to do.”

Michael Pitt photographed for the Prada Spring/Summer 2012 campaign.

Mad Men actor (and one-time J.Crew model) Sam Page spotted shopping at The Grove.