THE GUARDIAN: The Catholic church made my young queer life hell. Now they accept and damn my union in one breath
Matt Cain (left) with his husband on their wedding day. Photograph: Joseph Scanlon Photography
On the day I celebrated the first anniversary of my wedding, Pope Francis announced his “conditional approval” for Catholic priests to bless same-sex marriages – under certain circumstances – although he was keen to add that these blessings should not be seen as validation of same-sex relationships. “It will be possible to bless same-sex couples but without any type of ritualisation or offering the impression of a marriage,” the Church announced in a report published on Vatican News, adding that “the blessing does not signify approval of the union”. In the eyes of the Catholic church, it seems, queer love is still a sin.
Well, you can stick your blessing, Pope Francis. It’s a fig leaf, a PR exercise, a means of laundering your prejudice to make it seem like a step towards acceptance.
I was brought up Catholic, went to Catholic schools and mass every Sunday, and served as an altar boy for years. From an early age I also knew I was gay. But some of my teachers made me believe that being gay was wrong. When the other kids called me “poof”, “pansy” and “queer”, it didn’t occur to me to report them to a teacher. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention to my sin. It was my own fault I was being bullied. I was consumed by guilt. » | Matt Cain | Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Oct 28, 2018 • Highlights wedding video of one of the first same-sex weddings in Australia and the first at Sydney Harbour. On Thursday 11 January 2018 after such debate in Australia we were finally able to get married and have a wedding day that we could only dream of come true. Biggest of thanks to D'nM wedding Films for catching every magical memory! Source: D'nM Wedding Films (2018)
ADVOCATE: But men in opposite-sex marriages have higher rates of employment.
A new analysis from the Pew Research Center has found that that people in same-sex marriages have a different demographic profile than those in opposite-sex marriages — especially men in same-sex marriages.
Pew’s analysis explored adults 18 years or older who had been married in the last decade. It’s based on data released this year by the U.S. Census Bureau, which found there almost 570,000 same-sex married couples in 2019.
Researchers found that men in same-sex marriages had higher levels of education and higher annual incomes than men in opposite-sex marriages. In same-sex marriages, 50 percent of men were found to have a bachelor’s degree, while 38 percent of men in opposite-sex marriages had one.
Women in same-sex marriages faired about the same, with 47 percent of women in same-sex marriages having a degree, while 45 percent of women in opposite-sex marriages had one.
Household incomes for women in same-sex marriages were higher by $10,800 on average than women in opposite-sex marriages, according to Pew.
For men, the difference was $41,600. » | Alex Cooper | Thursday, July 8, 2021
A couple performs a symbolic marriage with US Reverend Roger LaRade in Havana.
THE GUARDIAN: Activist Mariela Castro, daughter of president Raúl, sponsors event at which 20 couples are blessed by American and Canadian clergy members
A day before Cuban president Raúl Castro was to visit the Vatican, his daughter sponsored a blessing ceremony for gay couples on an island where gay marriage remains illegal.
More than 1,000 gay, lesbian and transgender Cubans marched through Havana on Saturday, proudly displaying their truest selves for a day in a society where they still endure discrimination.
The Eighth Annual March against Homophobia and Transphobia took on extra meaning for about 20 couples who participated in a “Celebration of Love”, symbolically exchanging vows.
The couples held hands or embraced as American and Canadian protestant clergy members blessed them. It was part of official ceremonies leading up to the Global Day against Homophobia on 17 May.
Castro’s daughter, Mariela, heads Cuba’s Center for Sex Education, which has been pushing for gay rights in a country with a history of persecuting homosexuals. » | Agencies in Havana | Saturday, May 09, 2015
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay Britons living in Russia, China and Serbia are now be able get married in the British consulate
Same[-]sex marriages can take place in the British consulates of more than 20 countries where the ceremonies are not legal including Russia, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Hungary.
The Foreign Office has opened the doors of its missions to British nationals and their partners who wish to wed but are unable to under foreign laws.
Chris Bryant, the former Foreign office minister and openly gay Labour MP, said he hoped the move would be "celebrated" in countries like Russia where homosexuals face prejudice and persecution.
In June last year Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, signed into law a bill punishing people for homosexual "propaganda".
The law imposed fines on those who disseminate information aimed at minors ‘directed and forming non-traditional sexual set-up’, or which may cause a ‘distorted understanding’ that gay and heterosexual relationships are equal. » | Matthew Holehouse and Steven Swinford | Tuesday, June 03, 2014
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Archbishop Says the Church Will Resist Government Moves on Gay Marriage
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury has vowed to defend the Church’s traditional stance on marriage against Government moves to introduce homosexual weddings in churches.
Dr Rowan Williams has refused to be drawn on the issue publicly, but has broken his silence to tell MPs he is not prepared for the Coalition to tell the Church how to behave.
He told a private meeting of influential politicians that the Church of England would not bow to public pressure to allow its buildings to be used to conduct same-sex civil partnerships.
The comments are the first time he has spoken since the Coalition unveiled plans to allow religious buildings to be used to conduct homosexual partnership ceremonies.
While the Church has been bitterly divided over the role of its homosexual clergy, he said it held a clear position that marriage is between a man and a woman and would not consider changing this stance. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Nepal 'to Stage Gay Weddings on Everest'
THE TELEGRAPH: Nepal is set to stage same-sex weddings on Mount Everest as part of a bid to promote the country as the homosexual tourism capital of Asia.
Nepal's homosexual community, which is led by Asia's only openly gay member of parliament, will next month host a tourism conference to explore how to attract wealthy gay visitors to boost the country's war-ravaged economy.
The country's new constitution will legalise homosexual marriage in May this year, when "Pink Mountain" will begin offering luxury honeymoon and wedding packages.
Sunil Babu Pant, a Communist legislator and leader of the country's homosexual rights movement, has launched a travel company dedicated to promoting the former Hindu kingdom to gay tourists in an effort to tap the so-called "Pink Pound" and dollar.
The company will offer elephant-back bridal processions, Everest base camp ceremonies and weddings in remote Tibetan enclaves in the Himalayan republic. >>> Dean Nelson in New Delhi | Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Beat Goes On: California Continues to Bellyache Over Gay Marriage
Activists shouted "shame on you" as the ruling was published. Photo courtesy of the BBC
BBC: California's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on same-sex marriage - the latest twist in a long-running saga.
The judges rejected a challenge from gay-rights activists to overturn the result of a 2008 referendum which restricted marriage to heterosexuals.
Prior to the vote, same-sex marriages were legal for six months, during which 18,000 couples were married.
The judges said their ruling was not retroactive - meaning those couples will remain legally married. California Backs Gay Marriage Ban >>> | Tuesday, May 26, 2009
YOUTUBE: California Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban
YOUTUBE: Protest Across California After Supreme Court Supports Gay Marriage Ban
YOUTUBE: New York City Rally in Protest of California Marriage Ruling
LE FIGARO: La Californie maintient l'interdiction du mariage gay
Cette décision de la Cour suprême de l'Etat a provoqué mardi un face à face tendu entre police, et défenseurs des unions homosexuelles, et la consternation du tout-Hollywood.
L'annonce a été accueillie par les cris de déception des manifestants rassemblés devant le tribunal de San Francisco. Mardi, la cour suprême de Californie a validé le résultat d'un référendum interdisant le mariage homosexuel. Comme on pouvait s'y attendre, six des sept juges ont estimé que cette consultation était légale et ne devait pas être annulée. (Voir la vidéo ci-dessous)
«Bien que je pense qu'un jour le peuple ou les tribunaux reconnaîtront le mariage gay, en tant que gouverneur de Californie, je respecterai la décision de la Cour suprême», a réagi Arnold Schwarzenegger dans un communiqué.
La plus haute instance juridique californienne a toutefois validé les unions conclues avant l'entrée en vigueur de cette mesure. Quelque 18.000 couples gays restent donc mariés. >>> J.C. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP et AP | Mercredi 27 Mai 2009
NZZ Online: Homo-Ehen in Kalifornien bleiben verboten: Deutliches Urteil des Obersten Gerichts – bereits geschlossene Ehen bleiben gültig
Das Oberste Gericht in Kalifornien hat das Resultat einer Volksabstimmung vom November für gültig erklärt, in der eine Mehrheit für das Verbot von Homo-Ehen gewesen war. Das Richtergremium fällte einen deutlichen Entscheid.
Die Anhänger der Homo-Ehe in den USA haben vor dem Obersten Gericht Kaliforniens eine Niederlage erlitten. Die Richter erklärten das Ergebnis der Volksabstimmung vom November für gültig, bei der eine Mehrheit für ein Verbot der Ehe zwischen gleichgeschlechtlichen Partnern gestimmt hatte. Die rund 18'000 Homo-Ehen, die vor dem Verbot geschlossen worden waren, sollen aber weiterhin gültig bleiben, hielt das Gericht in dem am Dienstag veröffentlichten Urteil fest.
Eine Verfassungsänderung?
Mehrere hundert Anhänger der Homo-Ehe, die sich vor dem Gericht in San Francisco versammelt hatten, reagierten mit Empörung auf den Richterspruch. Sie skandierten «Schande, Schande!» Schwulen- und Lesbenverbände hatten das Verfahren gemeinsam mit anderen Bürgerrechtsgruppen angestrengt, um das Ergebnis der Volksabstimmung annullieren zu lassen.
Sie hatten argumentiert, dass ein derart schwerer Eingriff in die Rechte von Minderheiten einer Verfassungsänderung gleichkomme und deshalb nur mit einer Zwei-Drittel-Mehrheit im Landesparlament verabschiedet werden dürfte. Die Richter wollten dieser Auffassung aber nicht folgen; sie bestätigten das Verbot im Verhältnis sechs zu eins. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Beijing's 'Happy Couples' Launch Campaign for Same-sex Marriages
THE GUARDIAN: Wedding pictures event as gay community fights hostility and discrimination
With her bouquet of roses and fluffy white dress, Han Xincheng looked the epitome of the glamorous modern Chinese bride. But, although her parents had been pressing her to marry, the photographs were not what they might have expected: she is gazing adoringly at another woman, surrounded by onlookers.
The series of "wedding pictures" staged by lesbians and gay men in the heart of Beijing might not raise eyebrows any longer in most western countries, but they are evidence that attitudes are finally changing in a country where gay sex was illegal until 1997 and homosexuality classified as a mental illness until four years later.
There is still no legal protection against discrimination in China and few role models: no mainstream figures are openly gay. Yet now parts of China's gay population are calling for the right to wed - and meeting with some sympathy. >>> Tania Branigan in Beijing | Wednesday, February 25, 2009
