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African LGBTQ activists meet with Pope Francis

Pontiff met with Clare Byarugaba from Uganda and Ebenezer Peegah from Ghana

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Clare Byarugaba, left, with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Aug. 13, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Byarugaba's X account)

Pope Francis on Tuesday met with two LGBTQ activists from Africa at the Vatican.

Clare Byarugaba of Chapter Four Uganda posted to her X account a picture of her sitting next to Francis. A video that she shared shows Juan Carlos Cruz — a gay Chilean man who is a survivor of clergy sex abuse and a member of a commission that advises Francis on protecting children from pedophile priests — introducing her to the pontiff.

Cruz is also a member of the GLAAD board of directors.

Byarugaba, who also founded PFLAG Uganda, said she was “honored to meet” Francis. She added she briefed him on “the ruinous impact of Uganda’s two in a decade anti-LGBTIQ rights laws,” including the Anti-Homosexuality Act that President Yoweri Museveni signed in 2023, and “the gross human rights violations therein.”

“He reiterated discrimination is a sin and violence against LGBTIQ communities is unacceptable,” said Byarugaba.

The Washington Blade has reached out to Byarugaba for additional comment.

Francis on Tuesday also met with Rightify Ghana Director Ebenezer Peegah.

“With LGBTQI+ criminalization rising in Africa, and Ghana’s anti-LGBTQI+ bill pending, we shared our experiences as queer individuals in Ghana and expressed gratitude to the pope for his progressive stance, especially his opposition to violence and discrimination,” said Rightify Ghana on X. “Pope Francis encouraged us to ‘keep fighting for your rights,’ and that’s exactly what we will do.”

Francis during a Jan. 24, 2023, interview with the Associated Press said homosexuality is not a crime and laws that criminalize it are “unjust.” Francis a few days later reiterated these comments during a press conference on board his plane after it left South Sudan, a country that borders Uganda.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in South Sudan.

“The criminalization of homosexuality is a problem that cannot be ignored,” Francis told reporters. “Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.”

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, among other things, contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The U.S. after Museveni signed the law imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and removed the country from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. The World Bank Group also announced the suspension of new loans to Uganda.

The Ugandan Constitutional Court on April 3 refused to “nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act in its totality.”

More than a dozen activists appealed the ruling to the country’s Court of Appeal. They filed a second appeal with the Supreme Court on July 11.

Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, and Seychelles are among the countries that have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations over the last decade.

The Namibian government last month appealed a ruling that struck down the country’s apartheid-era sodomy laws.

Burkina Faso’s military government on July 10 announced it plans to recriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations in the nation. The Ghanaian Supreme Court on July 24 upheld the country’s colonial-era sodomy law.

Ghanaian lawmakers on Feb. 28 approved the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill that would, among other things, criminalize allyship. President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he will not sign the bill until the Supreme Court rules on whether it is constitutional or not. 

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Netherlands

Dutch prime minister scheduled to open World Pride human rights conference

Rob Jetten is country’s first openly gay head of government

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2 weeks ago

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July 8, 2026

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Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten (Photo courtesy of the Dutch government)

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten is scheduled to open this year’s World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam.

Organizers in a July 1 press release said Jetten will open the conference on Aug. 5. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema; South African Deputy Minister for Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities Steve Letsike; former Venezuelan National Assemblywoman Tamara Adrián; and Graeme Reid, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ and intersex issues, are among those who are also expected to participate in the gathering that will end on Aug. 7.

Jetten, 39, in February became the Netherlands’s first openly gay prime minister.

His centrist D66 party won the country’s elections last October. Geert Wilders’s far-right Party for Freedom narrowly lost.

Jetten took office after he formed a coalition government that includes the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.

World Pride will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.

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Turkey

Turkish authorities refuse to allow gay cruise to dock in country

Atlantis Events-chartered ship included stops in Kusadasi, Istanbul

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2 weeks ago

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July 6, 2026

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(Photo by Lora Sutyagina/Bigstock)

Update: Egyptian authorities on Wednesday blocked the ship from docking in Alexandria, a port city on the Mediterranean.

Turkish authorities have refused to allow a gay cruise to dock in the country.

The Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyages ship that Atlantis Events chartered, departed Athens on Sunday. The 10-day cruise is scheduled to end in Trieste, Italy, on July 15.

The ship had been scheduled to dock in Kusadasi, a Turkish resort town on the Aegean Sea, on Tuesday. It was then slated to sail to Istanbul on Wednesday.

Officials in Aydin Province in which Kusadasi is located on June 28 posted a statement on X that confirmed the decision not to allow the Scarlet Lady to dock in Turkey.

Authorities noted the “groups” behind the cruise are “known for behaviors that do not align with the structure of our society and our moral values.” The June 28 statement also says the scheduled docking “caused great discomfort in various segments of our society.”

Atlantis Events in a statement on its website said the company has “been informed by the Turkish authorities that Atlantis will not be permitted to dock in Kusadasi or Istanbul during this voyage.”

“As a result, we have had to alter our sailing itinerary somewhat,” it reads.

The statement notes the cruise will now stop in Alexandria, Egypt, and Crete.

“Both ports have excellent opportunities for exploration and enjoyment and have been favorites of ours for years,” it reads.

(Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt. The Egyptian Football Association, along with the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, objected to playing in the World Cup’s “Pride Match” that took place in Seattle on June 26.)

A cruise ship approaches Heraklion, Greece, on Sept. 4, 2024. The city is on the Greek island of Crete. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Patti LuPone, who is performing on the cruise, sharply criticized the Turkish government over its decision.

“The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week, has been banned from entering Turkey,” she said on her Facebook page on July 2. “A ship — a magnificent ship — full of well-heeled gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board. I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call. I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men on this Atlantis cruise, who deserve so much better than this.”

Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell told the Washington Post that his company’s cruises have visited Turkey more than a dozen times over the last two decades.

“We’re there to shop, be great tourists, spend money,” he said. “It’s always a culturally respectful group.”

Campbell further noted Turkey could lose at least $1 million in tourism revenue over its decision.

“The bigger damage to Turkey is when you start picking and choosing who’s allowed to enter, and your economy depends on tourism, you’re creating a standoff between tourists and yourself,” he told the Post. “And you run the risk of alienating a lot of potential tourists.”

The Washington Blade on Monday reached out to Campbell for additional comment.

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United Kingdom

Queen Camilla meets with JK Rowling

Edinburgh meeting took place on last day of Pride month

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2 weeks ago

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July 2, 2026

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(Photo via The Royal Family/X)

Queen Camilla on Tuesday met with JK Rowling.

The Royal Family on X said the meeting took place at Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The post included a picture of Camilla and Rowling together.

“With a shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure, The queen and author JK Rowling have met at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh,” it reads. “Her Majesty and Ms. Rowling discussed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations.”

Rowling over the last decade has emerged as a vocal opponent of transgender rights. Her meeting with Camilla took place on the last day of Pride month.

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