Pope Francis: “Church shouldn’t interfere spiritually with LGBT lives”
In an article published by CNN, Pope Francis was reported to have said in an interview to Roman Jesuit journal “La Civilta Cattolica” that the church has the right to express its opinions but should not interfere spiritually in the lives of gays and lesbians. He also said that women must play a key role in church decisions.
“Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person,” Francis said.
This is not the first time the pope has made tolerant statements towards the LGBT community, which is highly uncharacteristic for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church. In July, Francis said it wasn’t his place to judge gay priests. He expanded on those comments saying that his statements adhered to Catholic doctrine which calls on the faithful to love individual LGBT people, but condemn homosexual acts.
In regards to women, Francis said, “The church cannot be herself without the woman and her role.”
Francis is notably taking a more compassionate stance on several hard-core issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraceptive methods.
New rules on rights and benefits issued
The U.S. Department of Labor has officially announced new guidelines for businesses and gay employees. This comes after the Supreme Court declared section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.
According to the “Advocate,” the Labor Department says, the terms “spouse” and “marriage” in Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and in related department regulations will now read to include same-sex couples legally married in any state or foreign jurisdiction that recognizes such marriages, regardless of where they currently live. However, those terms do not include individuals in a formal relationship recognized by a state that is not considered a marriage under state law, such as a domestic partnership or civil union.
These changes will concern employee benefit plans and beneficiaries.
Former Obama opponent bashes homosexuality
Alan Keyes, the conservative Republican who ran against Barack Obama for the 2004 Senate seat is comparing homosexuality to incest, bestiality and pedophilia.
According to the Huffington Post, Keyes appeared on Gordon Klingenschmitt’s “Pray In Jesus Name” show and in a heated rant, said, “Only those things that are demonstrated to have a relationship with what is right from the point of view of the society, of human nature, and of the things that God requires of us as part of our responsibility to him, those things can be claimed as rights. A mother who loves her son can’t have relations with her son. Well, that means you can’t just follow your loving inclinations in order to engage in sexual activity with anybody you love because our laws strictly forbid that.”
This is not the first time Keyes has denounced the LGBT community. Earlier this year, he said that same-sex marriage was the archetype of all crimes against humanity and that its legalization would go against divine law, prompting the U.S. to become a Communist regime.