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Elton John at AIDS event: Pope Francis is my hero
NEW YORK — Elton John called Pope Francis “my hero” for his compassion and push to accept gays in the Catholic church, at his annual AIDS benefit.
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Catholic bishops scrap welcome to gays in sign of church split
VATICAN CITY — Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families. The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down section on ministering to homosexuals that stripped away …
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Catholic Bishops say gays have ‘gifts and qualities’ to offer church
VATICAN CITY — Catholic bishops are showing unprecedented openness to accepting the real lives of many Catholics today, saying gays have gifts to offer the church and should be accepted and that there are “positive” aspects to a couple living together without being married. A two-week meeting of bishops on family issues arrived …
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LGBT groups cautiously cheer Catholic Church shift in tone toward gays
VATICAN CITY — LGBT rights advocates are cautiously cheering a shift in tone from the Catholic Church toward gays, encouraged that Pope Francis’ famous “Who am I to judge?” position has filtered down to bishops debating family issues at a Vatican meeting this week. There is no discussion that church doctrine on homosexuality will change …
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Fired teachers seek audience with Pope over Catholic Church’s anti-gay stance
WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign on Tuesday delivered a letter to the Vatican on behalf of nine teachers who have lost their jobs at Catholics schools for either being LGBT, or supporting an LGBT family member.
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Pope to convene synod to discuss gay marriage, divorce, contraception
The Vatican will convene an meeting of senior clerics this fall to re-examine church teachings on its most controversial issues: same-sex relations, divorce and contraception.
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Advocate for homeless LGBT youth calls on Pope to end religion’s anti-gay messaging
NEW YORK — Homeless LGBT youth advocate Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, America’s largest shelter for homeless LGBT youth, is calling on Pope Francis to to lead the world’s religious communities in bringing an end to the “grave moral failure” by the Church to embrace LGBT youth and families.
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Pope Francis presses anti-AIDS chastity strategy in Africa
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has praised church workers in Africa who promote chastity as a key way to prevent the spread of HIV.
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On eve of meeting with Pope Francis, Obama lectures Russia on LGBT rights
BRUSSELS, Belgium — President Barack Obama on Wednesday again took aim at Russia’s anti-gay laws following talks with European Union and NATO leaders on Russia’s military-backed annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.
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Pope Francis suggests Catholic Church could support same-sex civil unions
ROME — While reaffirming the Catholic Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage, Pope Francis said in a newspaper interview Wednesday that the church could support some form of civil unions.