WATCH: Out Cincinnati Councilman Delivers Passionate Speech to the Leelahs of the World
Chris Seelbach wants LGBT youth know that they’re all exactly who they’re meant to be — and he wants more adults to say the same.
Mitch Kellaway
Daily Archives: January 12, 2015
Gay Irish Priest Comes Out To Parishioners — And Gets A Surprising Response
Gay Irish Priest Comes Out To Parishioners — And Gets A Surprising Response
After serving a Roman Catholic parish in Ireland for 15 years, the Rev. Martin Dolan told congregants the truth about his sexual orientation over the weekend.
Dolan was standing at the pulpit during a Saturday mass at Dublin’s Church of St. Nicholas of Myra when he began encouraging parishioners to support legalizing same-sex marriage, according to The Irish Sun. Then, he made the unexpected announcement: “I’m gay myself.”
The priest reportedly received a standing ovation.
A community youth worker in Dublin told The Irish Sun, “We are all very proud of Father Martin. Because he has admitted that he is gay doesn’t change the person that he was before it.”
Two Irish LGBT rights groups confirmed the priest’s remarks to the HuffPost in emails.
Andrew Hyland, director of Marriage Equality, said that he lives on the same street as the church and that his father is one of Dolan’s parishioners.
“Fr. Dolan’s acknowledgement from the pulpit that he is gay and supports marriage equality has been warmly welcomed in Ireland,” Hyland wrote. “The parishioners of Francis Street have expressed a deep loyalty towards him since his brave announcement.”
Tiernan Brady, policy director for the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, said Dolan’s coming out is “first and foremost a wonderful personal story.”
“It takes a lot of courage to do what Fr Dolan did and he must have experiences some trepidation before he said it,” Brady wrote. “The wonderful reaction of his congregation giving him a standing ovation after he spoke is a powerful endorsement of his brave decision.”
Neither Dolan nor Dublin’s archdiocese responded to requests for comment.
The church doesn’t formally ban gays from the priesthood, but requires all clergy to take a vow of celibacy. Pope Francis famously addressed the question of homosexuality in the priesthood in 2013, saying in Italian: “Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord? You can’t marginalize these people.”
Ireland is preparing to hold a referendum on legalizing gay marriage in May. According to a 2011 census, Catholics made up 84.2 percent of Ireland’s population. Although the Catholic Church does not favor same-sex marriage, an Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll found that 71 percent of the electorate was willing to vote to approve marriage equality this spring.
“Fr. Dolan’s support will undoubtedly give a boost to a positive outcome in the referendum,” Hyland said. “It signals to people that despite what the hierarchy of the Church wills, regular Church goers can vote yes and know they join thousands of others in good conscience in doing so.
“Fr. Dolan’s move reminds people that many LGBT people have a deep faith and are an equal part of the Church and should be valued as such,” Hyland added.
While laughing at George Clooney joke, Rosie O'Donnell utters F-bomb on The View
While laughing at George Clooney joke, Rosie O'Donnell utters F-bomb on The View
‘I hope they bleep that. I apologize. I don’t know why I said that’
gregh
HRC Joins NPR to Discuss Workplace Equality for LGBT Americans
HRC Joins NPR to Discuss Workplace Equality for LGBT Americans
Last week, Workplace Equality Program Director Deena Fidas joined The Diane Rehm Show to discuss the importance of equality for LGBT Americans in the workplace.
HRC.org
WATCH: An Inside Look at the Supreme Court in Deleted Scene From “The Case Against 8″
WATCH: An Inside Look at the Supreme Court in Deleted Scene From “The Case Against 8″
If you want to know what it’s like for a plaintiff to enter the Supreme Court on the day his case is being heard, you’re in luck. (No, no one is suing you… at least as far as we know.)
In this exclusive, never-before-seen footage filmed for but cut from HBO’s award-winning documentary The Case Against 8, two of the case’s plaintiffs share their first impressions upon entering the courtroom. And since cameras were not allowed inside, this is the closest we’re going to get to that intense, surely anxiety-provoking moment.
The Case Against 8, available tomorrow on DVD & Digital HD, features over 30 minutes of unseen footage.
Check out the deleted scene below.
Jeremy Kinser
LGBT Enrollment Week – Jay Laudato, Executive Director
LGBT Enrollment Week – Jay Laudato, Executive Director
gay longhair queer
Former 'Ex-Gay' Leader Comes Out
Former 'Ex-Gay' Leader Comes Out
In a new blog post, Randy Thomas, formerly of Exodus International, describes himself as ‘gay with a bisexual propensity.’
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/ex-gay-therapy/2015/01/12/former-ex-gay-leader-comes-out
In the Words of the Beatles, 'Help!'
In the Words of the Beatles, 'Help!'
I worry about my generation. Outside of all the chaos and destruction in the world, I worry about my generation’s sense of entitlement and lack of desire to learn from, or about, its history. I was driving in my car yesterday, having recently downloaded Kanye West’s new song featuring Sir Paul McCartney; I immediately remember seeing stories online about the amount of young people who either had no idea who McCartney was, or even better, thought that Kanye was giving some music hopeful a chance to “make it big.”
Growing up, I would have gotten a smack to the back of my head if I dared to be unaware of Paul McCartney or his involvement in the most famous band of all time! I was lucky though; my father stressed the importance of where music styles came from, who influenced the music world, and what was genuinely good music, or not. My father introduced me to Led Zeppelin (Classic Rock), Marvin Gaye (Motown), and Frank Sinatra (the Crooners), while I introduced myself to *NSYNC, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys (God bless the late ’90s pop era).
Music is just a small part of the problem, though; nobody is paying attention to the history of our country either. I’m a high school teacher; therefore I have an accurate pulse of “what’s coming” in the next generation. The other day, one of my students mentioned having to go see the new movie, Selma, with his mother this coming weekend. He didn’t seem happy or excited; whether that was due to the content or the fact that his mother was going with him remains to be seen. Regardless, my students had no clear understanding of the actual event; they only knew that it was about the Civil Rights era.
Though I’m a math teacher, I’m a complete history buff; I love learning about the past, no matter the country or time period. I find myself wondering what it would be like to have been a part of history, but I also know that we must learn from it. Unfortunately, I do not see this desire amongst my generation and the generation below me; I hesitate to generalize, but my excitement seems to always fall on deaf ears when I talk about historical events with the majority of my peers.
I identify as a gay man; therefore my thirst for historical knowledge has also been quenched from learning about events like the Stonewall riots; people like Harvey Milk and Edith Windsor; and current events, such as the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act. I am also a member of Dignity/Washington, a chapter of a national organization, DignityUSA, which provides Catholic mass for the LGBTQ community, their family and friends. I mention my membership because the large majority of our community is over 40. I have been able to learn from those who struggled with their sexuality before me; I have heard their stories and what the world was like when they were coming out of the closet. It has given me a new respect for the more mature LGBTQ community and the ease with which I was able to come out a few years ago.
I fear that my generation has grown to feel too entitled; because historical events did not involve us, we do not see the importance of learning about them and from them. Though we have our own struggles with finding work and paying off massive student loans, we do not take the time to stop and think of those who were not ever able to go to school because of their gender or their race. We idolize musicians who are simply sampling and borrowing from exponentially more influential people from the past. In terms of the LGBTQ community, we see the strides made in the last couple of years and forget the people who came before us, who could not walk down the street holding hands with their lover, let alone marry them!
I have faith in my generation’s ability to lead and prosper. Though our struggles today are much more different, and technologically advanced, than the ones that came before us, we are still overcoming our own obstacles. My only fear is that we have become ignorant to the past; therefore I worry that we will not be prepared for the future.
Peter Tatchell and other top activists to debate if we are failing on global rights at Gay Star Travel Expo
Peter Tatchell and other top activists to debate if we are failing on global rights at Gay Star Travel Expo
One-of-a-kind travel show returns to London’s Heaven nightclub on the 17 Jan
jamiet