Fridae

Are queer people welcome within the church?

Despite Pope Francis's recent pronouncements that the Catholic church should stop focusing on gay issues, the Catholic Church has reportedly threatened legal action should an art gallery in Rome decide to go ahead with its exhibition of photographs showing same-sex couples sharing kisses in churches.

The Argentina LGBT Federation has issued a media statement saying the election of the former archbishop of Buenos Aires as the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide is a "bad sign for LGBTI rights" as he had obstructed the legislative advances of LGBT rights in Argentina.

Meet Pope Francis who as the former archbishop of Buenos Aires opposed gay marriage and the promotion of free contraceptives, but is also held in high regard for his compassion for the poor and disenfranchised.

A wide-ranging report commissioned by bishops of the US Catholic Church says neither homosexuality nor the all-male celibate priesthood could be blamed for the sexual abuse of minors by its priests. Researchers noted that the rise in the number of gay priests from the late 1970s onward had in fact corresponded with "a decreased incidence of abuse—not an increased incidence of abuse."

The Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore says it does not support the repeal of laws that criminalise gay sex acts, and "persons with homosexual tendencies (orientation) should refrain from irresponsible sexual acts."