| Germany issues “tolerance” plea to gay community amid Pope ...
Germanys gay community has been urged to show tolerance to the Pope as he begins a tour of his country of birth tomorrow.
Pope Benedict XVI, referred to as Papa Ratzi in Germany, begins a six day tour of his native Bavaria on Saturday where he will visit the state capital of Munich and the village of Marktl am Inn where he was born in 1927.
The pontiff is known for his highly conservative attitude to homosexuality and has repeatedly spoken out against gay marriage, but Munich mayor, Christian Ude, has pleaded with the gay community to show tolerance for the moral positions of the Catholic Church.
The mayor of Munich is a Social Democrat who has worked for gay rights and has served as patron for the Christopher-Street-Day parades, a gay pride event, every year since 1994.
The unholy tones of a Christian Voice
A relentless Christian campaigner has denied breaching public order by handing out anti-gay leaflets at a gay pride event. Stephen Green, the infamous director of Christian Voice was arrested at Cardiffs Mardi Gras festival at the weekend while giving out flyers titles Same-sex love- Same-sex sex: What does the Bible say? An Inspector Chad from the Minorities Support Unit, detained Stephen Green when he refused to stop dishing out the offensive literature to people entering Bute Park in Cardiff. Green was kept in the cells at Cardiff Police Station for over four hours before being charged with using 'threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby, contrary to section 5(1) and (6) of the Public Order Act 1986'.
Cleric wades into gay pride row
The Catholic Archbishop of Glagow has controversially defended the nine firemen who have been disciplined for refusing to distribute fire safety leaflets at a gay pride event. One officer was demoted, eight others were given warnings, and all were required to attend diversity training after they disobeyed orders to attend the Pride Scotia event in Glasgow. But Mario Conti, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, issued a statement today saying that the disciplinary action was 'dismaying'. Archbishop Conti said that 'the duty to obey one's conscience is a higher duty than that of obeying orders.' While some of the firemen had said that they were refusing to give fire prevention advice at the event in June because they had religious objections, other refused to do so simply because they said it would be embarrassing.
`Gung ho,' gay - and alive today
I am in agreement with William Butte's commentary of Sept. 4 on the military policy of "Don't ask, don't tell." It reminded me of my experience in the U.S. Navy in 1964: 43 years and nothing has changed.
Just out of Catholic high school and in a hurry to become a working adult, I joined the U.S. Navy. I thought the four years would "teach me to be a man" and allow me to get an education and some worldly knowledge.
I was very innocent and, to be sure, quite ignorant about the ways of the world. I was very sexually active with boys all during my school years, even as early as the fourth grade. I liked guys, but didn't consider myself "queer" and had never heard of the term "gay." "Homosexual" was a derogatory dictionary term.
In basic training I decided I would like to go to corps school to become a Navy corpsman.
| 
