NEWS NOTES: October 23, 2013

News NotesHere are some items you might find of interest:

(1) The Archbishop of Lima, Peru, has publicly implied a legislator in that country is gay. Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne was speaking on a radio program when he attacked the Carlos Bruce, who is the legislator behind a bill legalizing civil unions. Gay Star News quotes the cardinal as saying, “If a person has made some alternate choices, that’s their problem and he can do whatever he wants on his own.” Bruce chose not to reply to the comment.

(2) As marriage equality becomes law in Scotland, the Catholic hierarchy is warning it may imitate the French model and separate sacramental marriages from civil licensing. Archbishop Leo Cushley and the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said legal concerns are to blame, as they fear priests could be liable if they refuse to marry a same-gender couple. Pro-LGBT groups claim this is just politicking, and the Scottish government confirmed religious institutions would not be forced to provide same-gender marriages, according to The Scotsman.

(3) Bishops in Nigeria issued a statement at the conclusion of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Nigeria meetings that decried foreign organizations who are promoting marriage equality, along with condemning condom usage. Gay Star News reports that anti-gay legislation is increasing in the nation which has passed a “Jail All the Gays” law and banned diplomats with same-gender partners.

(4) Rosario Crocetta is seeking to clean up waste and corruption in Sicily, which is languishing amid debt and the Mafia. The New York Times offers an in-depth profile of this Italian politician who is the region’s leader, and who also happens to be a gay Catholic, in which he discusses faith, sexuality, and conflicts with local clergy.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

2 replies
  1. Dan Moriarty
    Dan Moriarty says:

    (Opus Dei) Cardinal Cipriani of Peru has no moral credibility in my mind. This is only his latest shameful act. In the mid-1990s, when a guerrilla group – including members as young as 14 years old – took over the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima, the rebels asked to celebrate mass. Cipriani went in to share the Eucharist with them. What they didn’t know was that he used the opportunity to smuggle in microphones that government forces would then use to catch the guerrillas unarmed (playing soccer in the basement). They tunneled in, broke into the house at the opportune moment – thanks to Cipriani’s mics – and assassinated every single unarmed rebel, including the children. Some were shot in the back as they tried to run away. Cipriani denounced only the violence of the guerrillas.

    Reply

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  1. […] civil unions bill, has come out nine months after Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne of Lima insinuated as much in a radio interview. Bruce is the first openly gay legislator in the highly conservative Catholic nation, and has […]

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