As LGBTQ People Flee, Polish Cardinal Calls Rainbow Flag on Christ Statue a “Desecration”; And More News

Here are some items that may be of interest:

1) Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw has described the placing a rainbow flag on a statue of Christ as “desecration” and “vandalism” that has caused “pain for believers,” according to a statement he released. The statue, known as “Sursum corda,” has significance as a symbol of hope during the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis in 1944. The activists who hoisted the rainbow flag are now facing a criminal investigation. Pinning a symbol of LGBTQ equality to the statue comes at a perilous moment for LGBTQ people in that country after the re-election of President Andrzej Duda, who ran on a platform vilifying LGBTQ people. Recent reports say that LGBTQ people are leaving the country for fear of their safety.

2) A group of French Catholic feminists who launched “All Apostles” have included sexual orientation and gender identity in their manifesto calling for church reform. The group is composed of “women engaged in the Church and supported by a group of baptized people moved by the desire to serve their Church in different ministries (deacon, parish priest, nuncio, bishop) but also decision-making functions which are prohibited to them today.”

3) CRISMHOM, an ecumenical community for LGBTI+H Christians in Madrid which is a member of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, faced two acts of vandalism at its headquarters, reported Novena News. The attackers posted homophobic stickers on an information display, as well as spray painting the words “You will burn in hell” over the property’s main door. CRISMHOM’s members have said they “will not stop our activism for a better world more in line with the message of love of Jesus of Nazareth” even after the attacks.

4) Tarlach MacNiallais, a key organizer for LGBTQ inclusion in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, died at 57 of complications from Covid-19. The Advocate reported that MacNiallais later became a member of the parade’s committee once LGBTQ contingents were allowed to march in 2016, as well as being an active participant in the St. Pat’s for All Parade, an alternative inclusive event held in Queens, New York.

5) Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Juneau, Alaska, hosted a one-man performance of the play Saints of Failure earlier this year, which stars gay Christian Ryan Conarro who desired it to be in a worship space. Conarro, who was raised Catholic, explores the church’s saints, along with LGBTQ themes, reported the Juneau Empire.

Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, August 8, 2020

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