Buffalo Church Removes 'Jesus Had 2 Dads' Sign After Uproar

A Roman Catholic church in Buffalo, N.Y., has taken down a “Jesus Had 2 Dads” sign, with the pastor saying he didn’t realize it could convey support for same-sex marriage, which the faith opposes.

Saints Columba-Brigid Catholic Church last week put up the sign with the message “Jesus Had 2 Dads and He Turned Out Just Fine,” a reference to Jesus being both the son of God and the son of a man, Joseph. The Rev. Roy T. Herberger, the church’s pastor, told The Buffalo News the message was one of several he found by Googling “funny church signs,” and he decided to use it as a way to support children with stepparents or other nonnuclear family arrangements.

“My only purpose was to say, ‘Look, hang in there. People understand what you’re going through. Don’t give up on yourself,’” he told the News. He said he didn’t realize the statement could be interpreted as endorsing same-sex marriage or parenting by gay couples.

Many others, however, did see that meaning in the sign, and they responded with antigay sentiments. “This pro-homosexual sign effectively mocks the Blessed Trinity, mocks the Hypostatic Union, mocks the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph — some of the most sacred components of our Catholic Faith,” wrote John Vennari on the Catholic Family News website.

Also, several people left negative comments about the sign in the guest book on the parish’s website, calling it “an abomination,” “blasphemous,” “heretical,” “an outrageous mockery of the Catholic faith,” the Buffalo paper reports.

And Bishop Richard J. Malone of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo received calls from around the world protesting the message, he told the paper. “As soon as I learned of this sign, I took immediate action to have it removed,” he said in a prepared statement. “The pastor of SS. Columba-Brigid Parish told me that the ‘2 Dads’ were meant to refer to a child who has both a father and stepfather. There are several children in his parish who have both a father and stepfather. However, given the potential for the meaning of this message to be misunderstood and even perceived in a heretical way, it was immediately removed.”

Some of Herberger’s parishioners supported the sign’s message. “I think it’s great,” Petra Fontanez told The Buffalo News. “That’s actually what I like from this church.” She recalled not feeling accepted by the Catholic faith when she was a single mother with children by two different fathers.

Herberger recently gave a sermon encouraging acceptance of all loving relationships, and the signage appeared to be an extension of that, said Margaret McGrath, a member of the church’s parish council and director of its Family Resource and Advocacy Center. Father Roy is the true spirit of the Catholic Church,” she told the paper. “He is Pope Francis among us.”

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/religion/2015/11/16/buffalo-church-removes-jesus-had-2-dads-sign-after-uproar

Here's Why This Catholic Church Accidentally Supported Gay Rights For A Minute

A Catholic priest was ordered to remove a “Jesus had 2 dads” sign amid outrage from some Catholic communities that the sign showed support of same-sex parents. The sign was put up last week and remained until the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo ordered them to be removed.

SS. Columba-Brigid Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, NY, changed its church’s sign last week to read: “Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out just fine.” But Rev. Roy Herberger, a priest at the church who wrote the sign, said it was intended to express support for children with stepparents — not for same-sex parents.

“I only had one purpose,” the priest told Yahoo Parenting. “After 48 years in the church, I see so many kids with stepparents, or even in single-family homes or being raised by grandparents, who feel that they’re not as good as other kids who have nuclear mother and father family.” He added, “I wanted to provide support and understanding for kids in that situation.”

While studies have shown an emergence of younger Catholics supporting the acceptance of gays and lesbians — as high as 85 percent, according to a Pew Research Center study in July, the Catholic Church opposes and prohibits same-sex marriage within the institution.  

The Catholic Family News interpreted the sign as expressing support for same-sex parents raising a child together. John Vennari, an editor of the site, uploaded a photo of the sign Tuesday shortly after it appeared at the church, calling it a “pro-homosexual sign” that mocks “the most sacred components” of the Catholic faith. He wrote a letter denouncing the sign in The Catholic Family News. 

“It expresses the idea of a family that’s not consistent with what the church was taught for 2,000 years,” Vennari later told WKBW, a local affiliate of ABC news in Buffalo. 

Once news spread of the sign, Bishop Richard J. Malone of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, immediately called for Rev. Herberger to take it down. A spokesperson from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo told The Huffington Post, the sign was removed last Monday

“As soon as I learned of this sign, I took immediate action to have it removed,” Malone said in a statement released to The Buffalo News. “There are several children in his parish who have both a father and stepfather … however, given the potential for the meaning of this message to be misunderstood and even perceived in a heretical way, it was immediately removed.” 

Although Herberger told Yahoo he had “no trouble” taking the sign down, the church’s online guestbook that invites users to post comments, shows varying opinions about its message. 

One commenter Lorraine, referred to the sign as “an abomination before God and a real true hate crime to encourage sin” while another commenter, Jim, found the sign to present a positive message, “one of love and support.”

While the comments ranged from an expression of gratitude to utter disappointment, an updated statement from the Catholic Family News declared that Herberger should have been “aware” of the sign’s implications in the first place. 

A representative from SS. Columba-Brigid Roman Catholic Church told The Huffington Post that the church will not provide any further comments regarding the sign. 

H/T: PinkNews

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Charlie Sheen reportedly set to publicly confirm he is HIV positive

Actor Charlie Sheen is scheduled to go public with news that he is HIV positive, according to several news reports on Monday (16 November).

The Golden Globe Award winning actor, best known for the sitcom Two and a Half Men and the films Wall Street and Platoon, is expected to discuss his status on NBC’s The Today Show on Tuesday (17 November).

The Today Show is teasing the interview on Twitter as a ‘revealing live’ chat but does not confirm the HIV diagnosis.

Sheen, 50, was reportedly threatened with lawsuits by some former sexual partners which has led to his going public, according to TMZ.

Well-known publicist and crisis manager Howard Bragman tells People.com he was approached by Sheen’s people six months ago to deal with the crisis but he did not end up working with the actor.

‘The interview could open up a lot of sympathy for him, but he has to be concerned about a fear of litigation from former sexual partners. You don’t take that lightly,’ Bragman said.

Bragman has been told that Sheen is getting treatment and that people in his life are aware of his status.

‘It’s been going on for quite awhile,’ Bragman said. ‘He’s not necessarily comfortable talking about it. It was very hard to get up the courage for him to talk about it.’

Sheen is the son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor-director Emilio Estevez. He came to fame with roles in such films as Young Guns, Major League and Eight Men Out.

He turned to television in 2000 by replacing Micheal J. Fox in the ABC sitcom Spin City. He then went on to star for eight seasons on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men before being fired after a public feud with the show’s producer.

More recently, Sheen starred in the FX comedy Anger Management which ran for 100 episodes.

Other famous Americans currently living with HIV include retired NBA star Magic Johnson, Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis, playwright and author Larry Kramer, retired figure skater Rudy Galindo and Who’s the Boss star Danny Pintauro.

The post Charlie Sheen reportedly set to publicly confirm he is HIV positive appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/charlie-sheen-reportedly-set-to-publicly-confirm-he-is-hiv-positive/

HRC Honors Netflix Star Tituss Burgess with HRC Visibility Award

On Saturday, HRC honored Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2015 St. Louis Gala.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-honors-netflix-star-tituss-burgess-with-hrc-visibility-award?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Utah Judge Who Removed Foster Child from Gay Moms Recuses Himself

A juvenile court judge in Utah who ordered a foster child be removed from the care of two gay foster moms has recused himself from the case.

BREAKING NEWS: Juvenile court judge removes himself from foster care case involving same-sex couple. @fox13now #utpol #LGBT

— Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) November 16, 2015

Judge Scott N. Johansen had argued that the foster child being cared for by gay moms April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce (right) would be better off in a foster home with heterosexual parents. Johansen claimed his argument was backed up by “research”, though he never cited any specific source.

After mounting pressure from civil rights groups and an investigation by the state, Johansen temporarily reversed his previous decision.

Johansen’s move today to remove himself comes in response to a request from Hoagland and Peirce. A court document obtained by reporter Ben Winslow reads, “Foster parents in this case have moved the Court for an orderto disqualify the Judge…the Court hereby disqualifies himself from this case and refers all pending matters to be assigned by the Presiding Judge.”

Lesbian foster parents asked judge to disqualify himself from case. He did. Read the order. @fox13now #utpol #LGBT pic.twitter.com/BFenIPnmxJ

— Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) November 16, 2015

RELATED: Utah Governor: Judge Who Removed Child from Gay Foster Parents Should ‘Follow the Law’ – VIDEO

While Johansen may be out of the picture, another juvenile court judge will now have to step in to decide the fate of this case.

Meanwhile, liberal think tank Alliance For a Better Utah has launched an online petition to see Johansen removed from the bench.

The post Utah Judge Who Removed Foster Child from Gay Moms Recuses Himself appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Utah Judge Who Removed Foster Child from Gay Moms Recuses Himself

Man 'Insulted' by Glamour Choosing Caitlyn Jenner Returns Wife's Woman of the Year Award

A New York City police officer has returned a posthumous honor for his late wife — the only female member of the New York Police Deprtment killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks —because, he said, he was “shocked and saddened” that Glamour gave the same award to Caitlyn Jenner.

The former Olympian received the Transgender Champion award last week at its Women of the Year ceremony in New York.

Officer James Smith wrote an open letter to the magazine and posted it on Facebook, reports BuzzFeed. His wife, Moira Smith, died while rescuing people from the World Trade Center on 9/11, and he wrote that he found Jenner undeserving of the same award.

“I find it insulting to Moira Smith’s memory, and the memory of other heroic women who have earned this award. I can only guess that this was a publicity stunt meant to resuscitate a dying medium. After discussing this slap in the face to the memory of our Hero with my family, I have decided to return Moira’s award to Glamour magazine.”

A spokesperson for Glamour told BuzzFeed in a statement that the magazine stands by its decision to honor Jenner.

“Glamour was proud to honor Police Officer Moira Smith in 2001 and we stand by our decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner among our class of winners in 2015. Caitlyn Jenner has helped shine a light on the problems faced by transgender youth and given voice to a community that is often unheard. Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards recognizes brave, bold women who in their individual ways have all made a significant difference in the world.”

Jenner was not the first transgender woman awarded Woman of the Year; Laverne Cox was honored in 2014.

A spokesperson for Jenner declined comment to BuzzFeed.

Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/caitlyn-jenner/2015/11/16/man-insulted-glamour-choosing-caitlyn-jenner-returns-wifes-woman-year

This Is What It's Like To Be An LGBT Syrian Fleeing For Your Life

LGBT refugees from across the Middle East flock to Turkey, escaping Islamist militias, sexual assault, and death threats. But what they find there leaves many in despair. J. Lester Feder reports for BuzzFeed News.

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Lead plaintiff in landmark Supreme Court gay marriage case endorses Hillary Clinton

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton took a long time to officially ‘evolve’ and support same-sex marriage but now that she has, she is getting high-profile LGBTI support.

Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the US Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states last June, announced Monday (16 November) that he is endorsing Clinton for president.

‘We have fought to not only change laws, but to change hearts, and now we need a president who will help us fight to eliminate the injustices that occur regularly in our community, and the best person to do that is Hillary Clinton,’ Obergefell said in a statement to Washington Blade.

Obergefell went on to describe the former Secretary of State and US Senator from New York as ‘a proven leader who will not only ensure that states are implementing marriage equality, but will work to end discrimination in our community whether it’s by passing the Equality Act or through state measures.

‘I refuse to let Republicans undo the progress that we’ve made, and that is why we need Hillary Clinton in the White House because she will be by our side as we break down barriers and finally reach full equality for all.’

During an appearance at Keene State College in New Hampshire last month, Clinton talked about what factored in to her giving full support to marriage equality after years of saying she favored only civil unions for same-sex couples.

‘Largely because of my strong opposition to discrimination of any sort and my personal relationships with a lot of people over the years, I certainly concluded that marriage equality should be the law of the land,’ she said.

‘I was thrilled when the Supreme Court made it the law of the land and I will enforce marriage equality.’

Clinton then took the question a step further by pointing out what work still needs to be done.

‘A lot of states now, because of the constitutional decision, you can get married on Saturday and get fired on Monday because we still permit discrimination in employment and in public accommodations,’ she said.

The post Lead plaintiff in landmark Supreme Court gay marriage case endorses Hillary Clinton appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/lead-plaintiff-in-landmark-supreme-court-gay-marriage-case-endorses-hillary-clinton/