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Episcopal Request for Civil Unions in Latvia Bishop Zbignevs Stankevics In Latvia, the episcopate has just asked the executive to grant legal status to homosexual “couples.” An astonishing statement that comes after recent remarks by Pope Francis on civil unions between people of the same sex.The Latvian episcopate did not take long to rush into the breach opened in the high walls of the Leonine enclosure by the documentary film screened in October 2020, previewed at the Rome Film Festival, organized by the Vatican.In this award-winning film, viewers were shocked to discover an interview in which the successor to...

In a major win for the LGBTQ community, Switzerland lawmakers approved the legalization of same-sex marriage last week. At the same time, the law also allowed transgender people to alter their legal gender at civil registry offices in the country and allows lesbian couples to conceive children using donated sperm, Reuters reports. Despite passing parliament, the same-sex marriage law may have to pass a national referendum in the coming year. However, activists expect a potential referendum to succeed, after a recent survey found support for marriage exceeding 80% in Switzerland. Campaign group Marriage For All posted a statement on their...

Official Church teaching describes homosexuality as ‘intrinsically disordered’ and something that ‘can in no case be approved of.’WASHINGTON, D.C., November 19, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — A report released by the Pew Research Center (PRC) shows that a majority of Catholics surveyed in Western Europe, the Americas, and across the world support either homosexual “marriage” or homosexuality as such — contrary to the official teaching of the Catholic Church. The comprehensive report, released earlier this month, focuses on Catholics’ view on homosexuality. Compiling the results of studies conducted over the past few years, the figures demonstrate a wide-scale rejection of Catholic teaching...

Homosexuals in Ireland believe that Pope Francis should initiate church blessings for same-sex couples. On October 21, 2020, We Are Church Ireland, a Catholic reform group that supports LGBT values, announced that the pope, who spoke out in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, should initiate a church blessing for these marriages, according to Novenanews.com. We Are Church Ireland said in a press release that the organization "warmly welcomes the excellent news that Pope Francis is supporting civil unions for couples of the same sex." According to representatives of the organization, this is "a very important step for Pope Francis and...

No country should allow the sale of children or the intentional creation of orphans, which, make no mistake, is exactly what is happening with surrogacy. A British man living in the United States who has recently begun a romantic relationship with his daughter’s ex-boyfriend bought a baby and is being praised by media for it. Barrie Drewitt-Barlow paid about $100,000 for his new daughter, Valentina Willow. He is most proud of the baby girl’s looks.“Every parent thinks their baby is the best-looking baby in the world, but the truth is Valentina Willow is the best-looking baby in the world,” Drewitt-Barlow...

Tim Miller is a Republican campaign operative who has worked for leading Republican politicians. Now he’s co-leading an organization to get party members to vote against Donald Trump. DW asked him about his motivation. […] Deutsche Welle: Who did you vote for in the general presidential election in 2016? Tim Miller: I decided the last week to vote for Hillary [Clinton, the Democratic candidate]. I was initially persuaded by the argument that maybe there should be a third-party candidate. But I determined that Donald Trump was just too great of a threat to the country to cast a throwaway vote...

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, they say, though when Mayor Bill de Blasio is on hand, the other end of the animal is usually involved. Gotham’s chief executive this week might have accepted with some grace an offer of assistance from a crisis-tested, and devoutly Christian, emergency-relief organization — but he gave it the fisheye instead. It seems that in Blasville, evangelical Christians armed with tons of the sophisticated medical equipment so sorely lacking in the city right now, plus the expertise to use it, are presumptively suspect. And are perhaps to be expelled. Thus it was...

A new exit poll suggests that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are tied when it comes to first preference votes, making the result of the General Election too close to call. The exit poll, carried out by Ipsos MRBI for RTÉ, The Irish Times, TG4 and UCD, indicates all three parties have 22% of first preference votes. The margin of error in this exit poll is ±1.3% — which means any of the three parties could be as low as 20.7% support or as high as 23.3%. […] The poll suggests a move toward Sinn Féin among younger...

It’s San Francisco. Rightly, when it comes to love, anything goes. But one wedding this month garnered attention for breaking one of the last barriers in this country’s long fight for marriage equality. Rick Welts, president of the Golden State Warriors, married Todd Gage, a Southwest flight attendant, in Room 200. It is believed to be the first time an executive for a professional men’s sports team married his same-sex partner. According to the Advocate, there are no out players in professional male sports and just a smattering of out executives and coaches. Same-sex weddings in the macho world of...

HIV that is being transmitted in large population clusters in the United States is more likely to cause high viral load in people who acquire it, leading US researchers to conclude that natural selection is causing HIV in the United States to become more infectious and virulent. The study by Dr Joel Wertheim of the University of California San Diego, Dr Walid Heneine of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues is published in Nature Communications. Scientists have previously theorised that rapid onward transmission of HIV after primary infection would tend to favour the selection of HIV variants...

Same-sex marriage is legally recognized in Northern Ireland from today. Following a legal change last autumn, same-sex couples can now register to marry and the first ceremonies will take place next month. Those who are already married will have their marriage legally recognized in Northern Ireland. Heterosexual couples will also be able to enter into civil partnerships from today. But same sex couples in a civil partnership will not yet be able to convert it to a marriage in the province — the Northern Ireland Office is set to begin a consultation on the matter later this year. The status...

NEW YORK, July 5 (C-Fam) Are divorce, cohabitation, same sex marriage, out of wedlock birth and adolescent sex good for women? The latest report from UN Women considers them “a positive reflection of women’s empowerment.” UN Women calls family life “an ambivalent space for women and girls.” “Families can have a darker side: they can be places of violence and discrimination, spaces where women and girls are often denied the resources they need, where they sometimes eat least and last and where their voices are stifled and their autonomy is denied,” the report says, concluding, “As such, the recognition of...

The best women's soccer players on the planet will lean on their loved ones for support as they vie for the trophy in the 2019 World Cup, which begins June 7.For two players on Team USA, their partner will be right next to them on the bench: Defender Ali Krieger and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris are engaged to be married.The longtime couple went public with their relationship in March in People magazine. Together since 2010, the American soccer stars were engaged last September, and plan to marry in December.  Harris, 33, described to People how the relationship started: “We became really close...

Over 1,500 pro-marriage equality supporters gathered outside Taiwan’s legislature earlier this week as lawmakers tried to smooth out differences among three competing draft bills on same-sex marriage. Many of the protesters are hoping to be able to legally marry their same-sex partners on May 24, the deadline to legalize homosexual marriages mandated by Taiwan’s constitutional court in a landmark ruling in 2017. Gay rights organizations had hoped the government would legalize same-sex marriage by directly amending marriage clauses in the civil code, a step considered by many as the truest form of equality. However, the central government and Taiwan’s ruling...

There’s at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors. The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 for a proposal called the Traditional Plan, which strengthens bans on LGBT-inclusive practices. A majority of U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBT-friendly options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the...

When the Supreme Court destroyed the institution of marriage in one fell swoop with the Obergefell V. Hodges ruling, liberals, and LGBT advocates mocked us for predicting the slippery slope we now find ourselves on. Our children are growing up in a world where gender is supposedly fluid (unless we’re using it to get what we want) and love is whatever we want it to be. It was only a matter of time before the insanity of the culture would set the stage for pedophilia follow on the coattails of homosexuality and become a normalized sexual orientation. Under the so-called...

EL PASO, Texas, March 22, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — A video of pro-abortion congressman Beto O’Rourke, who is running for president, has surfaced showing him berating a Catholic priest for defending male/female marriage at an El Paso City Council meeting in 2011. The incident took place in June 2011 when El Paso priest Fr. Michael Rodriguez spoke against extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples during the public comment part of the meeting. O’Rourke, who had been serving as city councilman since 2005, called Fr. Rodriguez back to the podium after his remarks, seemingly to do nothing more than lecture him so...

Azusa Pacific University, a major California-based Christian school, has once again opted to remove a ban on same-sex romantic relationships. The University changed their student guidelines on inappropriate sexual behavior last Thursday, removing the ban on homosexual relationships, according to a report by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune published Saturday. Azusa Pacific University spokesperson Rachel White explained in comments emailed to The Christian Post on Tuesday that the changes were part of an overall update of the undergraduate student handbook. “The old handbook, produced decades ago, underwent a significant revision and redesign after input from student leaders, board, administration, faculty,...

(3 Feb 2019) Greetings in the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ. At the start of this year may I wish you joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. In September 2018 members of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales were asked to agree or not with the following statement written by the bishops of the Church in Wales: It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.The results of the ballot were 76 members agreed, 21 members disagreed and 1 ballot was spoilt. The Bench of Bishops...

The former top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, criticized President Donald Trump's behavior and handling of the presidency, saying the commander-in-chief is dishonest and immoral. “I don’t think he tells the truth,” McChrystal said in an exclusive interview on “This Week” when asked by Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz if he believes the president is a liar. “Is Trump immoral, in your view?” Raddatz asked. “I think he is,” he said.