News
N.Y. archbishop uncomfortable with civil unions
Dolan dismisses notion Pope Francis approved them in widely publicized remarks
NBC’s “Meet the Press” interviews” New York archbishop Timothy Dolan (Screenshot via NBC News).
Despite recent comments from Pope Francis suggesting he may be open to the idea of civil unions if not same-sex marriage, one of the more influential U.S. bishops in his church doesn’t share the same view.
New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who’s known for his conservative views and opposition to same-sex marriage, said he’d be uncomfortable with even civil unions when asked about the issue on NBC’s “Meet the Press” by host David Gregory.
“If we water down that sacred meaning of marriage in any way, I worry that not only the church would suffer, I worry that culture and society would,” Dolan said.
Dolan also rejected the notion that Francis was expressing support for the legalization of such agreements in his comments to an Italian magazine that were widely reported last week.
“It wasn’t as if he came out and approved them,” Dolan said. “But he…in a sensitivity that has won the heart of the world, he said, “Rather than quickly condemn them, let’s…just ask the questions as to why that has appealed to certain people.”
According to CNN, Francis said during an interview with Corriere della Sera that he remains opposed to same-sex marriage, but added “we have to look at different cases” and civil unions could “provide financial security to cohabitating couples.” That’s along the lines of the support Francis expressed for civil unions when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Argentina in 2010.
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, chided Dolan for his remarks, saying they were contrary to the position of the pope.
“Since Day 1 of this papacy, Cardinal Dolan has sought to minimize the teachings of Francis and the new and welcome message of inclusion, but the Cardinal is out of step with the Pope, out of step with the great majority of American Catholics who support the freedom to marry, and out of step with the true values of love and the Golden Rule,” Wolfson said.
The remarks on civil unions from both Dolan and Francis come at a time when virtually no jurisdiction is debating them as states and countries are instead moving toward marriage equality for relationship recognition for gay couples.
Dolan’s main point during his “Meet the Press” was that Francis was shrewdly adapting the message of the church in a time when public sentiment is changing, but church doctrine remains the same.
“And so Francis is reminding us, look, if we come across as some crabby, nay saying shrill, we’re not gonna win anybody. If we come across as a loving, embracing holy mother church who says, “Come on in. We love you. We need you. We want you. And once you get to know us, then maybe we can invite you to the conversion of heart that is at the core of the gospel. And then maybe we can talk about changing behavior. That’s a very effective pedagogy.”
Dolan was also asked for his views on the coming out announcement of Michael Sam, the Missouri collegiate defense lineman who could be the first openly gay person to play in the NFL.
“Good for him,” Dolan said. “I would have no sense of judgment on him. God bless ya. I don’t think the same bible that…teaches us well about the virtues of chastity and the virtue of fidelity and marriage also tells us not to judge people. So I would say, ‘Bravo.'”
The exchange between Gregory and Dolan on civil unions follows:
DAVID GREGORY: Do you imagine the church might open the way to accepting civil unions?
CARDINAL DOLAN: He mentioned– I haven’t see– I’m– I’m as eager as you are to– read the– the full extent of that interview. And if I saw the reports accurately, they– he didn’t come right out and say he was for them. Once again, in an extraordinarily– sincere, open, nuanced way, he said, “I know that some people in some states have chosen this. We need to think about that and look into it and see the reasons that have driven them.”
It wasn’t as if he came out and approved them. But he– he just in– in a sensitivity that has won the heart of the world, he said, “Rather than quickly condemn them, let’s see if– let’s– let’s just ask the questions as to why that has appealed to certain people–“
DAVID GREGORY: Would that make you uncomfortable?
CARDINAL DOLAN: I– it would. It would, in a way, David. Because I don’t think– marriage, between– one man and one woman forever leading to life and love, that’s not something that’s just a religious, sacramental concern. You bet it is that, and– and we– that’s how god has elevated it, to making a sacrament.
But it’s also the building block of society and culture. So it belongs to culture. And if– and if we water down that sacred meaning of marriage in any way, I worry that not only the church would suffer, I worry that culture and society would.
Hungary
New Hungarian government to scrap anti-LGBTQ adoption law
Prime Minister Peter Maygar ousted Viktor Orbán in April
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Maygar has said his government will amend a law that essentially bans same-sex couples from adopting children.
Lawmakers approved the effective adoption ban in 2020, when then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government was in power. Maygar announced plans to amend the law on Saturday when he was speaking to supporters in Budapest, the Hungarian capital.
Orbán and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown that also included laws banning Pride events.
Maygar in April ousted Orbán in Hungary’s elections.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Turkey
Dozens detained after Turkish authorities raid LGBTQ groups, businesses
Raids targeted gay bars, activists’ homes
Authorities in Turkey over the weekend detained dozens of people during raids they carried out against gay bars and LGBTQ activists’ homes across the country.
The BBC reported the raids were part of the government’s “My Family is Safe” campaign.
A statement from a group of Turkish advocacy groups the Washington Blade received on Sunday noted Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the operation included “162 individuals, nine associations, and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.” Prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın, and Mersin are coordinating the campaign.
Kaos GL, one of the country’s largest advocacy groups, was among the targets.
“The authorities have referred to allegations including ‘obscenity,’ ‘facilitating prostitution or providing premises for prostitution,’ exposure of children to allegedly obscene content, drug-related offenses, and other morality-related offenses,” reads the press release the Blade received. “Information from the field indicates that additional allegations, including forming a criminal organization, may appear in some investigation files.”
“The reported inclusion of the offense of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes” under Article 220 of the Turkish Criminal Code is particularly alarming and, if confirmed, would mark a significant escalation in the criminalization of LGBTI+ human rights activism,” it added. “While LGBTI+ activists and organizations have recently faced and continue to face investigations and prosecutions on grounds such as ‘obscenity’ and alleged violations of the Law on Associations, the use of an organized-crime allegation represents a qualitatively more serious threshold, both in terms of the gravity of the accusation and the potential penalties involved.”
Turkish authorities under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government over the last decade have cracked down on LGBTQ and intersex activists in the country.
Police in 2015 used tear gas and water cannons against people who were about to participate in an Istanbul Pride march. Authorities in 2017 arrested nearly two dozen people who defied a ban on Pride events in the city.
Police in Ankara, the Turkish capital, in 2019, arrested 18 students and an academic who participated in a Pride march at the Middle East Technical University. They faced up to three years in prison, but a court in 2021 acquitted them. Police in 2022 violently broke up a Pride parade at the same Ankara university.
Turkish authorities in July refused to allow a gay cruise ship — the Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyage vessel that Atlantis Events chartered — to dock in Kusadasi, a resort town on the Aegean Sea.
Kusadasi is in Aydın Province, one of the provinces in which authorities conducted the raids. Turkish officials also refused to allow the Scarlet Lady to dock in Istanbul.
A Turkish source on Sunday told the Blade the “My Family is Safe” operation began on the 46th anniversary of a military coup that toppled the country’s government in 1980.
“The fact that this operation began on the night of Sept. 12 — the 46th anniversary of the 1980 coup — is highly significant in terms of the foundations of the prohibitive and repressive mindset directed at the LGBTI+ community,” they said. “Moreover, many LGBTI+ organizations had been subject to official inspections last week.”
“Conducting this operation on a Saturday night shortly thereafter also serves the purpose of heightening fear and anxiety within the community,” added the source.
The source asked the Blade not to reveal their identity.
ILGA-Europe in a statement described the raids as “the systematic dismantling of LGBTI civil society.” Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire is among the European officials who have publicly condemned them.
The Blade will update this story with additional details as they become available.
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