The Vatican orthodoxy watchdog announced this week a full-scale overhaul of the largest umbrella group for nuns in the United States.
The Vatican said the group takes positions that undermine Roman Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”
The Washington Post on April 19 published an editorial calling on the president to issue an executive order banning anti-LGBT bias among federal contractors.
“There is no principled reason for refusing to extend such workplace protections to millions of Americans,” the editorial read.
The mother of a gay Iowa high school freshman who killed himself last weekend said she knew her son was being harassed but that she and the rest of the family didn't realize the extent of the bullying, reported The Associated Press.
“When I talked to him, he blew it off like it wasn’t a big deal,” Jeannie Chambers, told the Sioux City Journal.
A former Catholic nun defied the Church’s ban on women become priests and went through an ordination ceremony, joining a push to crack open the all-male clergy.
A female bishop from Minnesota led the April 15 ordination ceremony for 71-year-old Maria Thornton McClain at Friedens United Church of Christ on the south side of Indianapolis.
A Baton Rouge, La., lawmaker withdrew her anti-bullying proposal this week after the state House Education Committee gutted it, taking out any reference to the type of activity that would be banned.
The proposal has become an annual flashpoint over the rights of gay students, and both Gov. Bobby Jindal and the conservative Louisiana Family Forum opposed the bill by Rep. Patricia Smith in its original form.
Its best-known staffer is a sex columnist with a new show on MTV. It’s famous for irreverent, often caustic coverage of Seattle’s entertainment and political scene. Now the alternative weekly The Stranger has another distinction – a Pulitzer Prize.
Eli Sanders, an associate editor at The Stranger, received one of journalism’s highest honors this week, winning the feature writing award for his harrowing account of a woman who survived a rape. Her partner was killed, and the surviving woman testified about her ordeal in court.
LGBT civil rights advocates are rallying to the defense of Ohio mom Jennifer Tyrrell, who recently was ousted from her role as den leader of a Cubs Scout pack.
The Boy Scouts of America enforces a policy of banning gay leaders and members from the organization, as well as atheists.
A former Catholic Charities board member has launched a petition drive urging Cardinal Timothy Dolan to meet with leaders of New York’s LGBT community to discuss homeless youth.
Joseph Amodeo, a former member of the executive committee of the Junior Board of Catholic Charities launched the campaign at Change.org.
A proposal that would ban the teaching of gay issues to elementary and middle school students is once again advancing in the House even though opponents insist it’s unnecessary.
The measure, known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, passed the House Education Committee 8-7 on April 17.
Couples seeking a divorce would have a difficult time and face additional hurdles if they opt for a so-called covenant marriage proposed in a bill before the Alabama Legislature.
The measure would require couples entering into a covenant marriage to enter counseling before they’re married, and then attend counseling if they want to get a divorce. It also limits the reasons for which married couples can divorce.
Five LGBT activists on a cross-country Soulforce Equality Ride were arrested on April 17 in the Denver area at the Colorado Christian University.
The Equality Ride activists were trying to talk with students in a campus Bible study program when they were taken into custody. They face misdemeanor charges of trespassing.
The White House LGBT Conference on Families takes place in Minneapolis on April 28, with speakers from the Justice and Health and Human Services departments.
Preliminary plans include addresses from Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at Health and Human Services and Stuart Delery, acting assistant attorney general with the Justice Department.
