Selected Doctrinal Arguments against the Admission of Persons of Homosexual Orientation to the Sacrament of Holy Orders

The problem addressed in this article is what doctrinal arguments are behind the current decision of the Holy See not to admit men with a deep-seated homosexual orientation to the sacrament of Holy Orders. The problem may be solved in three stages: by showing selected contents of the documents of the Holy See in the 20th and 21st centuries, by presenting the doctrinal themes contained therein and by attempting to evaluate their reception in the light of current challenges. The author invokes the documents of the Holy See and the statements of the popes.

The strong global trend of prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation

Over the last 30 years, more than 85 countries have prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in employment. Enacting such legal prohibitions has thereby become the most common form of legal recognition of homosexual orientation (more so than the decriminalisation of homosexual sex or the opening up of family law to same-sex partners). The trend is global (ten countries in Africa, more in Asia/Oceania, many in Europe and the Americas). The trend is reflected in supranational rules of the European Union and the Organisation of American States and also in decisions of international human rights bodies. On the basis of these numbers and developments, and in light of the various factors that help explain the strength of this global trend, the author argues that it is to be expected that the trend will continue to reach more and more countries. Explicit legal prohibitions of sexual orientation discrimination in employment can play a useful – perhaps central – role amongst other legal, educational, and social strategies aimed at increasing LGB inclusion.

Menegoisasikan Identitas Seksual dan Identitas Religius: Pengalaman Perempuan Kristen Berorientasi Homoseksual

Becoming a lesbian as well as a follower of a religion that opposes homosexuality creates an ambivalent and contradictory experience. This study aims to reveal the personal experiences of four homosexually oriented Christian women in Surabaya. All participants are members of Protestant Christian church congregations with different denominations. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis technique. The results of this study reveal three main themes, namely: living in two worlds, reconciling homosexual identity with religion, and making life decisions. The first theme reflects the dilemma experienced by the subjects when they realized that their choice as a homosexual was a sin in the perspective of their religion but they could not be able to force themselves to be a heterosexual woman. The second theme describes how the subjects tried to compromise between their homosexual orientation and their religious teachings. The last theme contains how choices are made when homosexual identity cannot be compromised with religious identity. This study concludes that most of the participants are trying to become a devout Christian and at the same time be able to engage in the same-sex sexual orientation. Keywords: homosexual identity, religious identity, lesbian, Christian Abstrak Menjadi lesbian sekaligus menjadi pemeluk suatu agama yang menentang homoseksualitas melahirkan pengalaman yang ambivalen dan kontradiktif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap pengalaman personal empat perempuan Kristen yang berorientasi homoseksual di Surabaya. Seluruh partisipan merupakan bagian dari anggota jemaat gereja Kristen Protestan dengan denominasi yang berbeda. Data dikumpulkan menggunakan wawancara semiterstruktur dan dianalisis dengan teknik analisis fenomenologi interpretatif. Penelitian ini berhasil mengungkap tiga tema utama yaitu: hidup dalam dua dunia, mendamaikan diri, dan mengambil keputusan hidup. Tema pertama mencerminkan dilema yang dialami para subjek ketika menyadari pilihannya sebagai homoseksual adalah dosa namun tidak mampu memaksakan diri untuk menyukai lawan jenis. Tema kedua menggambarkan bagaimana para subjek berupaya mengkompromikan antara orientasi homoseksualitasnya dengan ajaran agamanya. Tema terakhir memuat bagaimana pilihan diambil ketika identitas homoseksual tidak dapat dikompromikan dengan identitas religius. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa sebagian besar partisipan berupaya menjadi seorang Kristen yang taat dan sekaligus dapat menjalani orientasi seksual sesama jenis.

The Canonical, Legal and Liturgical Consequences of the Redefinition of the Sacrament of Marriage in the Old Catholic Churches

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the canonical Orthodox Churches, or Churches associated with the Union of Utrecht, include marriage in the seven sacraments. Nevertheless, there is no agreement between them regarding the minister of the sacrament, the possibility of a second marriage after divorce or clergy marriage. In recent years, tensions in individual ecclesial communities have also been exacerbated by canonical legalization of same-sex relationships. This issue concerns, in particular, the Churches whose bishops are part of the International Conference of Old Catholic Bishops. In the West European Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht there is full agreement that homosexual orientation is one of the variants of human nature. Old Catholics Theologians believe that the condemnation of homosexuality which we find in Scripture resulted from the state of knowledge at the time and related cultural connotations. They point out that modern science shows this phenomenon in a completely different perspective, based on the results of scientific research unknown to either the Biblical tradition or the Tradition of the early Church. The consequence of this was the opening of the debate on their nature and on the possibility of blessing same-sex relationships.

Developmental Regularities and the Issue of Adopting Homosexual Orientation by Adolescents - a Review of Research and Opinions

The article responds to practical dillemas of parents, psychologists or educators who come across teenagers declaring their homosexual orientation. In this overview, the authors discuss primary developmental factors and they point out the dynamic specific of adolescence, comprising also a psychosexual growth. Current research review shows that sexual orientation has a developmental and often fluent character, mostly in a heterosexual direction, and that a research on homosexuality leads to the conclusion, that it's etiology is multifactoral, with predominance of environmental over the genetic factors. For these reasons, early declarations of homosexual orientation uttered by teenagers rather should not be supported. At the end, a reader can find pieces of practical advice for psychologists, educators and parents.

L’homoérotisme en autotraduction : Le cas de Sud / South de Julien Green

As a translingual American writer, Julien Green (1900-1998) wrote a wide variety of novels, plays, short stories, and essays, as well as one of the longest recorded journals of the twentieth century. Among his bilingual texts Green published an important homoerotic play, Sud (1953), which he later translated into English as South (1959) in collaboration with his sister, Anne Green. Although the homoerotic nature of the characters of Green’s novels has been examined in certain critical texts, the evolution of this homoeroticism in Green’s self-translated play, Sud / South, has not yet been studied in detail. This article will, therefore, show how Green radically transformed the drama of homosexual love from his first play, Sud (1953), in his self-translation, South (1959), and the effects of these linguistic changes on the reader. More specifically, this critical analysis will demonstrate how Green used a translative approach of the moins-dit in order to conceal a substantial portion of his original French play’s central intrigue. Because of multiple omissions, revisions, and additions in self-translation, Ian Wiczewski’s love for the young Erik Mac Clure, as well as Édouard Broderick’s homosexual orientation, are less visible in South than in Sud. Consequently, Sud and South appear as two very disparate versions of the same text.

Gay's Self-Acceptance Process on HIV Positive Status

Men with a homosexual orientation are more likely to experience depression than women who have a homosexual orientation. The purpose of this study was to conclude and examine the literatures related to the process of self-acceptance of Gays who were HIV positive. The method used was literature review by searching indexed articles from several database sources such as from PubMed, Proquest Disbursement of databases, scanning, and screening. In the search for the articles, 832 articles were identified. In addition, after filtering the titles, abstracts, and research methods, 103 articles were obtained to be taken and reviewed independently based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, a further article screening was carried out to find accurate and complete references regarding the self-acceptance process for ga MSM who were HIV positive and obtained 10 articles for a critical appraisal. The author filtered the articles based on the critical appraisal results and obtained 4 articles for a final review based on the period of 2013 to 2018, and identified using an electronic database.The findings showed the process of self-acceptance of gay people who are HIV positive. The responses when they first found out that they were HIV positive mostly showed the same response, namely experiencing anxiety, shock, distrust and rejection of the HIV test results in the form stress and depression. Over time, the informants accepted themselves as HIV positive sufferers in a resigned and strong form. Most of them had not disclosed their HIV status, especially to their partners and families because they were afraid of rejection and stigma.

The Prohibition of Discrimination and Unequal Treatment of Women and Homosexuals in the Spheres of Work and in Public Life

Differences in race, ethnic origin, gender, belief and worldview, disability and chronic disease, age, and sexual orientation must not be a reason for discriminating against people. Non-discrimination is enshrined as a fundamental right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in numerous subsequent documents and in the constitutions of democratic states. Also the major religions are hostile to discriminatory distinctions. Among the groups that repeatedly experience discrimination are, on the one hand, women, who have to put up with disadvantages even in countries that advocate equality. Secondly, they include people with a homosexual orientation, who sometimes have to endure open rejection. This research uses a sample of N=5363 from 10 countries to examine the attitudes of young people about non-discrimination. Specifically, it asks whether religious belonging and the country of origin show any impact on this attitude, and whether the religiosity of respondents moderates the influence of religion and country. The empirical findings show that discrimination against women is rejected, but with differences between religious groups and countries. Homosexuality is seen more controversially and there is no uniform rejection of discrimination against homosexuals. However, depending on religious affiliation and national context, individual religiosity can have positive and negative effects on the rejection of discrimination.