LGBT
LGBT people flee Tanzania amid police crackdown
By Doreen Ajiambo — December 5, 2018
ISEBANIA, Tanzania (RNS) — 'I’m fearing for my life,' said one man before crossing the border to Kenya. 'Police are breaking into homes of suspected homosexuals and arresting them.'
Vatican bishops at synod struggle with what to call gay people
By Bob Smietana — October 23, 2018
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Younger Catholics want the church to be more inclusive. But as Catholic leaders wrap up a monthlong synod, they disagree on how to do that — or even how to refer to gay people in official synod documents.
Young Catholics urge Vatican to issue inclusive LGBT message
By Nicole Winfield — October 21, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Some of the youth delegates to the meeting have insisted that the final document express an inclusive message to make LGBT Catholics feel welcome in a church that has often shunned them.
In the Mennonite Church USA, congregations realign on sexuality
By Yonat Shimron — September 25, 2018
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) — Realignments around LGBTQ inclusion cut both ways: Conservative as well as liberal congregations are breaking away and coming together in new ways.
LBGT refugees say they face hostility, violence in Kenyan camp
By Tonny Onyulo — September 20, 2018
KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP, Kenya (RNS) – Many of their fellow refugees reportedly believe that homosexuality is wrong and gays must be punished.
As Cuba backs gay marriage, churches oppose the government’s plan
By Maria Isabel Alfonso — September 17, 2018
(The Conversation) — Christian leaders are taking advantage of a rare public debate to mobilize Cubans against a proposed constitutional reform that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Cardinal McCarrick scandal inflames debate over gay priests
By David Crary — August 21, 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — Allegations that disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick engaged in sex with adult seminarians have inflamed a long-running debate about the presence of gay men in the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Why celibate LGBTQ Christians stir controversy on right and left alike
By Katelyn Beaty — August 16, 2018
(RNS) — Where many conservative Christian leaders denounce LGBT identity, many are unwilling to do the relational work of walking alongside same-sex-attracted Christians as they attempt a very difficult thing: lifelong celibacy.
Labor Department bolsters religious exemptions from nondiscrimination laws
By Yonat Shimron — August 14, 2018
(RNS) — The directive is yet another sign of the Trump administration’s determination to accommodate people of faith, even if it means letting them refuse to hire LGBT people.
Poll suggests religious freedom push is having an effect
By Yonat Shimron — August 6, 2018
(RNS) — Businesses owned by religious families are refusing to provide services to LGBT couples. Nearly a majority of Americans say that's OK.
United Methodists debate, lobby and worry in advance of LGBT decision
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — August 2, 2018
(RNS) — The United Methodist Church's decade-long debate over LGBT clergy and same-sex marriage is heading for a showdown in February that will determine whether the denomination will split up or go forward together.
United Methodist court filings detail proposals for averting schism on sexuality
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 18, 2018
(RNS) — Court documents are giving United Methodists the first peek at proposed plans to avoid a split in the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Episcopal couples, advocates hope the church removes gay marriage restrictions
By Holly Meyer — July 5, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (USA Today) — Episcopalians will consider altering rules related to weddings for same-sex couples when they gather this month in Texas for the denomination's triennial meeting.
Group fights bill to declare gay conversion therapy a fraud
By Sophia Bollag — June 13, 2018
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An effort to call gay conversion therapy a fraudulent business practice gained ground in the California state Senate on Tuesday, despite opposition from hundreds who rallied to fight the proposal on religious grounds.
Vatican-backed family rally to have speech on welcoming gays
By Nicole Winfield — June 12, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Rev. James Martin told The Associated Press it was 'immensely significant' that a Vatican-backed meeting would include his presentation, saying it showed 'that LGBT Catholics and their parents are an important part of our church.'
