Same Sex Parents, Furred and Feathered

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Monday July 26, 2010 · 5:25 AM PDT

2010/07/26 · 05:25

There have been an increasing number of research studies which show that as parents, same sex couples are at least as good as opposite sex- couples. As a gay father and grandfather myself, I don’t really need to be told this by modern research: I first learnt of the evidence decades ago, from a family friend who was then a child welfare social worker, and is today a top authority on the subject. I also have the best of all possible authority, the experience of my own family. My daughter is very clear on the subject: she is on record as saying “Gay Parents? I recommend them”. She has told me that when she says a young child with two dads, her immediate response is - “Lucky child”. Still, it’s good to see the evidence getting a more public hearing. and reaching the mainstream.

I was interested though, to find that in this, as in so many other areas, of human sexuality, the same pattern is found in many species of animals and birds.

gaycatholic

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Monday July 19, 2010 · 6:48 AM PDT

2010/07/19 · 06:48

The more I explore the nature of sexuality in the animal world, the more amazed I am at the extraordinary number of ways in which animals show all the diversity of human sexuality, and more. Male dolphins and whales have an extra orifice to penetrate (their partners' blowholes); some primate male couples can indulge in "penis fencing" while hanging from a tree branch (I bet you've never tried that); and female spotted hyenas have a pseudo- phallus that they can (and do) use for penetration. More familiar activities are the usual mounting and penetration, either vaginal or anal, usually from the rear but sometimes from the front, or even the side; masturbation, using hands if they have them, but also flippers or just the ground; oral sex - forms of both fellatio and cunnilingus are known; and just plain cuddling and caressing.

gaycatholic

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Thursday May 13, 2010 · 3:30 AM PDT

2010/05/13 · 03:30

A Catholic school in Hingham, Massachusetts has refused admission to a boy with two moms. This follows a brief flurry of outrage earliermwhen a Boulder Catholic school, under pressure from the parish priest and the local bishop, told a couple of lesbian parents that their children were no longer welcome, and should look for another school elsewhere. Like so many news stories, the Boulder one soon died down, drowned out by the stories of abuse and cover-ups from Europe and has been all but forgotten, except for those directly affected. As Massachusetts shows, however, the story has not gone away - just moved on.

An Arkansas judge has ruled that a state ban on adoption which voters approved in November 2008 was invalid; a series of court rulings in Florida have approved three specific applications for adoption by gay parents, in spite of the state's constitutional ban; and in Argentina, the Lower House of parliament has passed legislation to approve both gay marriage and gay adoption. What the stories from Boulder and now Massachusetts completely overlook, is how very many children are already in Catholic schools.

gaycatholic

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Tuesday May 11, 2010 · 7:32 AM PDT

2010/05/11 · 07:32

When Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn suggested last week that the Catholic Church should rethink its positions on homosexuality and divorce, gay and progressive Catholic bloggers were all over it: I wrote about it at Queering the Church, and do did Bill Lindsay at Bilgrimage, Colleen Kochivar-Baker at Enlightened Catholicism, and Phillip Clark at Open Tabernacle. The mainstream media largely ignored it, concentrating instead on his other remarks attacking another cardinal for obstructing action against abusive priests, and urging widespread reform of the Curia.

To read too much into the Cardinal's remarks may be simply clutching at straws - or there may be something deeper behind it, particularly if you look at the wider picture of what has been said - or not said- recently on the topic.

gaycatholic

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Saturday December 12, 2009 · 3:00 PM PST

2009/12/12 · 15:00

The headlines suggest that Pope Benedict XVI, following his meeting yesterday with the two leading Irish prelates concerned, has made a strong and welcome response to the Irish abused scandal. Closer analysis shows how inadequate this suggestion really is. He has spoken of his outrage over the original abuses, and about the inadequate response of the Irish Church. This is nowhere near enough. This is not about just the Irish church, not about responding to specific abuses, nor even about better governance. Reorganising the Irish church, without restructuring the entire Catholic establishment, rules and culture, just won't cut it. Nor has he said anything by way of apology for his own contribution to the problem, which has been substantial.

gaycatholic

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Thursday December 10, 2009 · 3:04 PM PST

2009/12/10 · 15:04

(Cross-posted at "Queering the Church"

< style="text-align:justify;">In the modern popular imagination, the middle ages have generally had a bad press, compared unfavourably with the classical civilizations which preceded it, the Renaissance flowering which followed it - or even the Islamic and Byzantine centres of scholarship and learning alongside medieval Europe. However, the thousand or so years between the fall of Rome and the high Renaissance cover a wide range of conditions. In the midst of this period, at the start of the second millenium, lies a period which deserves greater attention from anyone interested in the history of the church, or of homosexuality, or (most particularly) of the intersection of the two. This was a period of the most visible, most public "gay" sub-culture in Europe before the late twentieth century. It was also a great age of church reform - and despite strong pressure from vocal opponents, the church reformers generally ignored it.

gaycatholic

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Wednesday November 25, 2009 · 5:07 AM PST

2009/11/25 · 05:07

At America blog last week, the Jesuit priest, Fr James Martin opened up a conversation that is well overdue, but which has up to now been conducted only among those most directly affected, or in obscure specialist theological circles: "What", he asked, "Is a gay Catholic to do?"

Introducing his question, Fr Martin began by observing five actions that most people would regard as standard life experiences or choices, but which are prohibited to gay Catholics if they wish to conform to standard Church teaching. Briefly, these actions are:

• To experience romantic, sexual love
• To get married
• To adopt children
• To seek ordination
• To take employment with the church or its agencies.

gaycatholic

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Tuesday November 24, 2009 · 6:53 AM PST

2009/11/24 · 06:53

(Cross-posted at Queering the Church")
From this side of the Atlantic, the continued reluctance to do away with DADT seems odd, at best... In the UK, gay men and lesbians not only serve freely and openly in the armed services and in the police, but can be seen every year participating in London Pride, marching in uniform through the streets of London - and in other gay pride marches up and down the country. Elsewhere in Europe, LGBT participation in the military is at least as relaxed.

gaycatholic

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Thursday November 19, 2009 · 6:42 AM PST

2009/11/19 · 06:42

The story referred to, by AP and carried by Azstar and the Strib, received a notably underwhelming reception from the MSM. When I first came across it, late on Tuesday evening, I struggled to find additional corroborating reports, although it is now being picked up by some in the queer blogosphere. It needs to be more widely discussed and disseminated.

Huh? When the finding is so well known? Why continue to repeat the obvious? These findings are no surprise.

Surprising, no. Important, yes. This is why.

gaycatholic

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Thursday November 05, 2009 · 8:18 AM PST

2009/11/05 · 08:18

Before assessing the current church positions, consider the view of St Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, early in the 12th century:

Council of London in 1102 wanted to enact ecclesiastical legislation which declared – for the first time in English history – that homosexual behaviour was a sin, and they recommended that offending laymen be imprisoned and clergymen be anathematized.

But Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury prohibited the publication of their decree, advising the Council that homosexuality was widespread and few men were embarrassed by it or had even been aware it was a serious matter; he felt that although sodomites should not be admitted to the priesthood, confessors should take into account mitigating factors such as age and marital status before prescribing penance, and he advised counselling rather than punishment.

-Gay History and Culture, Rick Norton

Now consider the reaction from religious leaders this week:

Religious leaders around Maine had mixed reactions Wednesday to the voters’ repeal of same-sex marriage on Election Day.

(Bangor Daily News)

gaycatholic

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Sunday November 01, 2009 · 3:04 AM PST

2009/11/01 · 03:04

Cross-posted at "Queering the Church"

We are used to the idea that the religious establishment are resolutely opposed to the idea of marriage equality, or even same-sex unions, so that often the struggle appears to be about gay rights or Christian faith. In California last year, the Mormons and Catholics were prominent in the campaign for Prop H8, as was Focus on the Family – which uses a cloak of religion as cover to push their distinctive idea of “family”. But this appearance of church against civil rights is beginning to crack – there is increasing momentum growing behind the idea that marriage equality is a religious issue – that the Christian churches should either be specifically in favour of gay unions, or at least not oppose them. This movement has likely been given impetus by the high profile decisions by the Episcopalians and ECLA in the summer towards acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the church: the high profile media attention showed clearly that there are at least conflicting views on the subject, making it difficult to maintain the pretence of a religious united front. Now there are signs of a change in other churches, too.

gaycatholic

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Saturday October 31, 2009 · 8:22 AM PDT

2009/10/31 · 08:22

I am what I am” has so long been a queer slogan that it has almost become a cliche, lost its meaning. But when we really think about it, the words still have power to move – certainly for me and my partner Raymond – probably also for others of our generation. I wonder though: how long did it take us before we could embrace the words for ourselves – and how fully? I doubt if there has ever been a child this young, with parents wise and supportive enough to enable him to be who he is:

* Sam is a 4-year-old boy who likes dressing up. So do most young kids, both boys and girls. He has a special dressing up box: again, pretty common.

* Sam likes pink clothes. So do a lot of girls – boys, not so much. But his folks are willing to go along with this, because it’ s what he likes – as long as it’s not too outlandish.

* Sam likes a lot of frills, and gauze, and tulle. So do a lot of girls – boys, not so much. But his folks are willing to go along with this too, because it’ s what he likes – as long as it’s for the dressing up-box, in domestic privacy.

* Sam likes to wear dresses.

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Same Sex Parents, Furred and Feathered

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Homoerotic Christianity's Medieval Flowering

What IS a Gay Catholic to do? A Conversation Comes out of the Closet

Gay Soldiers: The Foundation of Democracy

Most Boring Headline? " Homosexuality No Factor in Clerical Sexual Abuse"

Maine: Religious Response, and a Way Forward

Marriage Equality is a Religious Issue

Lessons From a Four Year Old: He Is What He Is