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Vatican Reverses Anti-Liberation Policies in Mexico

By Ruth Chojnacki and Jennifer Scheper Hughes

…ate, an ancient institution revived by Vatican II. In 2000, 341 of Mexico’s 800 deacons served the Diocese of San Cristobal, the largest number of deacons in any Catholic diocese in the world. Vatican suspicion of Bishop Ruiz’s liberationist pastoral strategy resulted in a failed attempt to remove him in 1993. The deacon program came under particular scrutiny after the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, with reports that Maya catechists defied th…

Catholic Church Ordained Women Before, Can Do it Again

By Phyllis Zagano

…ves in persona Christi servi. Take this example: just a short while ago an Australian bishop wrote and said: “isn’t your real goal ordination to priesthood.” I had to answer, no. There is a deep history of women in the diaconate—he was responding to this book—and until the whole Church recognizes its mistakes there will continue to be the same fears and misconceptions. Honestly, the trajectory of deacon-priest-bishop is relatively recent—only abou…

The Pope in My Pocket; We Are All Dilettantes Now

By Michael A. Elliott

…or sell for under two dollars). And unlike the internet, the space of the iPhone feels not just private, but personal. Yes, the iPhone might be my means of connection with the world—it is, after all, a phone—but it is also my own little password-locked garden that I carry with me wherever I go. Moreover, I can remake the landscape with a few flicks of my fingers whenever I choose. As a result, the territory necessarily mixes the sacred and the pro…

The Leadership Failure of Park51

By Hussein Rashid

…ave a firm answer until the FAQ was published. Since the FAQ is not on the official project website, the purpose of Park51 may still change. A project can, should and will evolve, yes, but the base case or starting point for that evolution needs to be clearly defined and clearly understood. This lack of leadership also means that an important constituency has not been consulted: the Muslims that the center supposedly represents. I have asked repea…

Why President Obama Should Not Visit the Western Wall

By Melissa Weininger

…issue, explaining that the difficulty of protecting the president near the site was too great. And other presidents, including Bill Clinton in 1996, have not visited the Wall either. In general there has been little response, positive or negative, to the news that the president would not go to the Wall. But Americans and Israelis concerned with civil rights in Israel should be applauding the news, because there are many good reasons why President…

Duterte Cites Catholic Heritage in Opposing Marriage Equality, and More in the Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…anslaughter rather than murder after invoking the “gay panic” defense. The Australian reports that Muslim and Jewish religious leaders have raised concerns over discussions about extending a law against racial discrimination “to include people claiming they have been offended or insulted because of their sexual orientation, disabilities or age.” The Australian reports that some religious leaders are concerned, in the words of Islamic Council of Qu…

Indonesia Hears Islamist Arguments For LGBT Criminalization; Zambian Churches Oppose Condom Distribution in Prisons; Lithuanian Conservative Manifesto Calls LGBTs Enemies of Freedom; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…lves to be in a same-sex marriage,” reports Nicholas Hellen, “Doubling the number threatens the fragile truce on an issue that has divided the church since same-sex marriages were allowed in England and Wales in March 2014.” Iraq: Interview with Kurdish human rights activist Ayaz Shalal, a human rights activist from the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, was interviewed by the Washington Blade during a visit to the U.S. this month. Shalal said he ex…

‘Rising Global Tide’ Of Anti-Gay Crackdowns; More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…place the no-longer-effective charges that liberals are “pro-North Korea.” Australia: Abbott teams up with ADF again; marriage advocates consider religious exemptions Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a fierce opponent of marriage equality, is making his second trip to the U.S. at the invitation of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a U.S. based group that resists LGBT equality around the world. Abbott also addressed ADF last year. The Fi…

U.S. Religious Right Groups Support Move Toward ‘Illiberalism’ of Hungary and Poland; and More in Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Grozny before this year’s purge against gay men. Bula, handed me his cell phone, showing me a picture of himself with a broken nose and a black eye. “This happened in Moscow where I was hiding after I fled from Grozny. I was attacked by two Chechens who came to look for me. After that I escaped to Western Europe in 2016.” Even then, the threats continued. “A few days ago,” Bula said, “the police came to my parent’s house in Chechnya. They demande…

Two Former Nuns Get Civil Union in Italy; Kenyan Govt Partners with World Congress of Families; Mexican Activists Debate Outing of Priests; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…d promote homosexuality and that impoverished Haiti had other priorities.” Australia: Poll confirms majority support for marriage equality, rejection of plebiscite A new poll released this week that most Australians support marriage equality but not the government’s plan to hold a national plebiscite on whether the law should be changed to recognize same-sex couples’ right to marry. Marriage equality advocates have called the proposed plebiscite a…