NEWS NOTES: March 22, 2016

News NotesHere are some news items that you might find of interest:

1. Seton Hall University’s Derrick Gordon will become the first openly gay college basketball player to participate in March Madness, the NCAA’s Division I tournament, reported The Huffington Post. Gordon’s decision to transfer to Seton Hall as an openly gay athlete made news last year, happening at the same time that the University fired chaplain Fr. Warren Hall for his support of the “NOH8” campaign.

2. Italian bishops sharply criticized the film “Weekend,” a gay romantic drama from director Andrew Haigh, which premiered in early March. The church owns a sizable number of theaters in Italy, meaning the episcopal condemnation cut down the number of screens the film could appear on and hurt sales initially, reported Variety

3. Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, the former head of the Dominicans, said Catholics should be less concerned with what others are “doing in bed” and focus on being a help, not a hindrance to people finding God according to their own path. He firmly rejected marriage equality, however, reported Rappler. Radcliffe said in interview during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, hosted by the Philippines:

” ‘If you look at what I said, I never approved of gay marriage. I always said the community must be open to gay people, as Pope Francis said, as my own cardinal archbishop in England says. We must be open to welcome anybody. But I never said I believe in gay marriage.’ “

4. An advertisement for the Marian site at Lourdes welcomed couples for Valentine’s Day, including same-gender couples, reported La Depeche. The ad, sponsored by the Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes, said the celebration is “open to all forms of couples, married, unmarried, homosexual. . .”, though same-gender couples will not receive a church blessing and none had pre-registered according to the report.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

 

0 replies
  1. Jim Mitulski
    Jim Mitulski says:

    I will never forget the priest at my father’s funeral who said to me minutes before my father’s funeral with my mother standing next to me that he hoped “no one will present himself for communion who ought not to.” My mother immediately started to argue with him ..(it was known that I am both gay and a Protestant minister -two strikes!) I stopped them both by assuring them I hadn’t planned to come forward…but the sting remains. The same priest cautioned me again before my mother’s funeral a few years later. As a pastor I cannot understand what possessed him to make that insistence on those occasions. Unnecessary and thoughtless

    Reply
    • Loretta Fitzgerald
      Loretta Fitzgerald says:

      Jim, my eyes sting reading your story. I admire your demeanor. What possessed him? The sin within wrapped in dysfunction, fear and lust for power.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *