Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi rejected the Roman Catholic Church's interference in a parliamentary debate on legislation that offers same-sex couples legal recognition and limited adoption rights, according to Reuters. Renzi spoke a day after the head of the Italian bishops' conference, Angelo Bagnasco, urged the upper house Senate to allow secret balloting when it votes on the bill. "Parliament decides whether or not to allow secret votes ... not the head of the bishops' conference," Renzi later said. Italy is the only major Western country that has not yet recognized gay civil unions.
Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirillwho met in Cuba for the first meeting of its kind in almost 1,000 yearsboth denounced same-sex marriage, along with poverty and war, according to Gay Star News. In a joint statement issued by the Vatican, they said, in part, "The family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman. It is love that seals their union and teaches them to accept one another as a gift." Kirill has been staunchly against LGBTI rights, having once said the legal recognition of same-sex marriage is "a very dangerous sign of the apocalypse."
Finnish artist Touko Laaksonenbetter known as gay icon Tom of Finlandis having a movie made about his life, according to NewNowNext.com . The film will follow Laaksonen as he returns from World War II and finds himself persecuted for his homosexuality. After being pressured into marrying a woman, he finds freedom in his homoerotic artwork, which eventually gains a worldwide following and helps set off a gay revolution. The movie is set to begin filming in the spring.
Portugal's parliament overturned the presidential veto on a bill legalizing adoption by same-sex couples, which means conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva will have to sign it into law before his term ends in March, Reuters UK reported. The motion was passed by 137 votes in the 230-seat parliament, bringing together the ruling Socialists, their far-left alliesthe Communists and Left Blocand some opposition deputies from the Social Democratic Party. Parliament also overturned Cavaco Silva's veto on changes to the law on abortion.
The prime minister who presided over the legalization of same-sex marriage in New Zealand was booed off stage and glitter-bombed at an LGBTI pride event that was being held as part of the Auckland Pride Festival, Gay Star News reported. Prime Minister John Key took to the stage but provoked an angry response from a group of protesters who were opposed to New Zealand signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement trade deal. New Zealand's LGBTI community is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality this year, and its 17th Big Gay Out.
In Egypt, an appeals court in Cairo has declared that a 2014 television broadcast of the arrest of 26 men at a gay bathhouse was in the public interest, according to Gay Star News. The court is hearing an appeal to a six-month sentence that was handed down against Mona Iraqi, the journalist who tipped off the police about the bathhouseleading to the raid that she then filmed. Iraqi's prison sentence has already been struck down.
The chairman of Jakarta-based LGBT group Arus Pelangi has filed a report to the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights ( Komnas HAM ) for shutting down a workshop on access to justice for LGBT communities in early February, Gay Star News noted. Yuli Rustinawati said dozens of Menteng Police officers arrived at the Cemara Hotel in Menteng, where the workshop was attended by 26 delegates from eight local provinces. Rustinawati said although she was told by the police that the organizers needed to get a permit from the police to hold such an event, she said that no regulation stipulated that an event held indoors with fewer than 50 people required a police permit.
The death of British travel writer/gay activist David St. Vincent in Bucharest, Romania, is being treated as suspicious, UK Metro reported. St Vincent's body was found by his landlady in his apartment in Bucharest on Jan. 12. He was initially thought to have died from natural causes, but police said that the case had been handed to the Bucharest prosecutors' office. St. Vincent's funeral will take place Feb. 18.
A Russian prosecutor is investigating if media coverage of the unlikely friendship between a male goat and a male tiger could spark interest among children in "non-traditional sexual relations," according to TIME. Timur the goat and Amur the tiger met in a wildlife park after the goat was placed in the tiger's compound as a snack; however, the tiger never devoured him and instead took a liking to his new companion, prompting their rare "relationship" to go viral. However, Novosibirsk lawyer Alexei Krestyanov claims the animals' domestic harmony could harm children by provoking "interest in non-traditional sexual relations."
Several Church of England bishops have criticized a play that features Jesus as a transgender woman, PinkNews reported. The one-woman show, The Gospel According To Jesus, Queen Of Heaven, is fronted by trans playwright Jo Cliffordwho portrays Jesus returning to Earth as a woman. Some evangelicals have attacked the play's subject matter, claiming it "distorts" the Christian faithand hit out at the bishop of Manchester for failing to block it.
A campaign has been set up in Scotland to raise money to train teachers in issues affecting LGBT students, Gay Times reported. Time for Inclusive Education ( TIE ) has the goal of sending teachers on training courses so that they are familiar with the issues queer students may have and respond to them accordingly. There is a crowdfunding page for the campaign.
An appeal in the so-called Bert and Ernie "gay cake" case was adjourned following a late intervention by the Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin, QC, The Irish Times reported. The three-judge Belfast Court of Appeal was set to begin a two-day hearing; however, questions raised by Larkin over whether local legislation could be in breach of European human-rights law prompted the judges to adjourn the full hearing until May.
The iconic Swedish pop quartet ABBA recently reunitedbut only to help launch a restaurant event, Today reported. Still, it was a rare joint appearance for Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ( The first letters of their names form the band's name. ) They were on hand for the opening of Ulvaeus' new dinner-theater event "Mamma Mia! The Party." The music group officially disbanded in 1982 and last publicly performed together in 1986; they turned down $1 billion to tour together again, Andersson admitted in 2000.
Police in Lima, Peru, broke up a peaceful gay-kiss protest with water cannons, according to Gay Star News. Dozens of people gathered together to protest against homophobia; they held hands, kissed, embraced and waved rainbow flags. Police sprayed the activists with water and kerosene from the armored truck, with many being injured.
In the latest crackdown on gay rights in Indonesia, the government has demanded all instant messaging apps remove same-sex emoticons or face a ban in the Muslim-majority country, Channel News Asia noted. The emojis available on the apps LINE and Whatsapp as well as Facebook and Twitterdepict same-sex couples holding hands and the rainbow flag. "Such contents are not allowed in Indonesia based on our cultural law and the religious norms and the operators must respect that," Ismail Cawidu, spokesman for the Communication and Information Ministry, told AFP.
The famed British soccer team Manchester United will play a friendly ( or exhibition match ) against Stonewall FC, one of the world's oldest gay soccer clubs, according to an Outsports item that cites Gay Star News. Stonewall FC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. The announcement came as part of an LGBT in Sports conference held in London.
Popular Saudi Arabian YouTubers posted a homophobic video to YouTubewhich was removed for hate speech, according to PinkNews. The clip was uploaded by Fe2aFala, popular Arabic vloggers who have more than 500,000 subscribers, racking up over 45 million views. In the now-pulled video, the two young men thanked police for raiding a same-sex wedding, adding that gays are "disgusting and nasty", asking Allah to send his "godly wrath" upon them.
After complaining about how difficult dating is, out gay Australian athlete Ian Thorpe is reportedly dating an underwear model, according to Gay Star News. The Courier Mail revealed on Valentine's Day that the 33-year-old is dating Perth-born model and law student Ryan Channing, 26. Thorpe came out as gay in July 2014 after years of depression and hiding his sexuality.