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Friday, November 07, 2008
MANCHESTER,
N.H.
(AP)
—
Episcopal
Bishop
Gene
Robinson
said
he
led
a
confidential
retreat
a
few
years
ago
for
gay
Roman
Catholic
priests.
Robinson,
the
first
openly
gay
bishop
in
the
Episcopal
Church
and
world
Anglican
Communion,
said
the
Catholic
priest
group
that
organized
the
meeting
had
invited
him
to
attend.
About
75
Catholic
clergy
from
around
the
U.S.
participated
without
notifying
their
bishops
or
provincial
leaders,
Robinson
said.
In
2005,
the
Vatican
issued
a
document
affirming
the
church’s
stance
that
men
with
“deep-seated”
attraction
to
other
men
should
not
be
ordained.
The
retreat
was
held
outside
of
New
England,
but
Robinson
would
not
say
where.
The
Laconia
Daily
Sun
reports
that
Robinson
briefly
discussed
the
retreat
during
a
question-and-answer
session
after
a
viewing
Oct.
25
of
“For
The
Bible
Tells
Me
So,”
a
documentary
featuring
his
life
story.
The
film
makes
a
link
between
sexism
and
anti-gay
prejudice,
contending
that
“at
its
root,
the
hatred
of
gays
is
driven
by
a
hatred
and
second-class
status
of
women,”
Robinson
said.
Robinson
said
he
made
a
similar
point
in
the
priests’
retreat.
“I
had
said
to
them,
‘It’s
too
dangerous
for
you
to
come
out
as
gay
to
your
superiors,
but
I
believe
that
if
you
work
for
the
ordination
of
women
in
your
church,
you
will
go
a
long
way
toward
opening
the
door
for
the
acceptance
of
gay
priests,”
Robinson
said.
WAXAHACHIE,
Texas
(AP)
—
Three
members
of
a
gay
rights
group
on
a
nationwide
bus
tour
of
faith-based
universities
were
arrested
Oct.
29
after
going
to
a
private
campus
that
had
banned
them,
officials
said.
Three
members
of
Soulforce
were
charged
with
trespassing
after
they
tried
to
go
to
a
chapel
service
at
Southwestern
Assemblies
of
God
University,
a
1,900-student
Pentecostal
school,
according
to
the
Waxahachie
Police
Department.
The
group
earlier
sent
a
letter
to
Southwestern
Assemblies
requesting
a
forum,
but
the
president
declined
and
asked
Soulforce
to
stay
off
campus,
said
university
spokesperson
Ryan
McElhany.
“It’s
not
a
question
that’s
up
for
debate
for
us,”
McElhany
said.
“We
love
the
people,
but
we
do
believe
that
homosexuality
is
a
sin.”
The
Southwestern
Assemblies
handbook
lists
homosexuality
as
an
offense
for
which
a
student
can
be
expelled.
CHEYENNE,
Wyo.
(AP)
—
As
Albany
County
officials
investigate
the
possibility
that
the
Matthew
Shepard
autopsy
report
may
be
missing,
the
pathologist
who
conducted
the
1998
autopsy
says
he
still
has
a
copy
of
the
original
record.
Dr.
Patrick
Allen
said
he
has
kept
records
of
all
of
his
work,
including
the
Shepard
autopsy,
which
is
among
many
that
seem
to
be
missing
from
the
Albany
County
coroner’s
office.
Coroner
Tom
Furgeson
has
claimed
records
were
missing
when
he
took
over
in
2007.
Julie
Heggie,
who
served
as
coroner
from
1990
to
2006,
has
said
she
handed
over
autopsy
reports
to
the
county
attorney
when
she
left
office.
Albany
County
Sheriff
James
Pond
said
last
week
that
he’s
working
with
Furgeson
on
a
“fact-finding
inquiry”
to
determine
whether
any
records
are
missing.
The
inquiry
includes
a
review
of
the
types
of
records
that
should
be
maintained
in
the
office,
he
said.
Shepard
was
a
gay
University
of
Wyoming
student
whose
beating
death
in
Laramie
garnered
national
attention.
The
two
men
convicted
in
the
case
are
serving
life
sentences
in
prison
for
the
murder.
PULLMAN,
Wash.
(AP)
—
Hundreds
of
Washington
State
University
students
rallied
last
week
on
behalf
of
gay
students
who
were
recently
attacked.
Many
wore
red
to
show
support
and
carried
signs
that
said,
“End
Hate.”
Radio
station
KRPL
reports
that
WSU
President
Elson
Floyd
cancelled
a
business
trip
to
return
to
campus
for
the
rally.
Students
stopped
him
from
speaking
Oct.
28,
saying
this
was
the
administration’s
time
to
listen.
Campus
and
Pullman
police
are
investigating
three
possible
hate
crimes
in
two
October
assaults
on
campus
and
one
at
College
Hill.
From
staff
and
wire
reports
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