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Showing posts from January, 2012

Showdown: Ontario gvmt tells Catholic schools gay clubs policy is non-negotiable

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TORONTO, Ontario , January 31, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – After Ontario ’s Catholic trustees took a strong stand against homosexual activism in a new anti- bullying plan  last week , Ontario’s government has slammed the plan for failing to allow for single-issue clubs for homosexual students. Premier Dalton McGuinty “We’ve been absolutely crystal clear that we expect students to participate in groups and have the issues important to them talked about,” Education Minister Laurel Broten told the Catholic Register ’s Deborah Gyapong on Monday. In a Jan. 25th document titled Respecting Differences, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) established a framework for student-led clubs to combat bullying related to racism, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The document insists the clubs remain faithful to Catholic teaching, be overseen by a staff advisor who knows and believes the Church’s teaching, and cannot engage in activism against Catholic teaching. It com

Christian housing programs must accept transgender, homosexual applicants

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Image by joseph a via Flickr January 31, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - The federal government will publish regulations next month requiring all religious groups involved in government-assisted housing facilities to accept homosexual couples and transgender individuals - a change effected in part by including homosexual couples in the rule’s definition of the word “family.” The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a  new rule  on Thursday that defines “family” as at least two people living together “regardless of marital status, or actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity ,” in addition to the surviving partners of AIDS victims who had previously been housed under HUD’s AIDS housing program. “HUD’s proposed rule clarifies that families, otherwise eligible for HUD programs, may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in suc

Washington state committee approves gay ‘marriage’ bill: senate expected to pass

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OLYMPIA, January 30, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - A same-sex “marriage” bill that would force church-run facilities to open their doors to homosexual couples seeking marriage has passed a key committee in the Washington state Senate . The full Senate is expected also to approve the bill. SB 6239 passed the Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Election Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote on Thursday, and the full Senate is expected to vote on the measure this week. The measure, which would make Washington the seventh U.S. state to alter the definition of marriage, reportedly has the backing of Gov. Chris Gregoire . The measure is expected to pass the Senate after a statement from Democratic Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen last Monday announced she would support SB 6239, giving it the 25th needed vote. Meanwhile, one of the area’s leading evangelical pastors has said that the bill’s language on marriage “discrimination” is “the setup for a knockdown” of religious institutions that op

Starbucks backs gay ‘marriage’

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SEATTLE , January 30, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – In news that will come as a heavy blow to many coffee lovers, Starbucks has officially backed homosexual ‘marriage.’ In a January 24 letter to U.S. partners, Kalen Holmes, Starbucks executive vice president, expresses support for the homosexual “marriage” legislation in Washington State .  The “important legislation,” says Holmes “is core to who we are and what we value as a company.” The legislation  has been decried  by pro-family advocates as a major threat to freedom, since it would force religious institutions to open the doors of their facilities for homosexual “ marriages .” The letter, which boasts of the company’s LGBT activism begins, “Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.” The letter concludes: “We look forward to seeing this legislation enacted into law.” “I’m disappointed that Starbucks wants to redefi

New Hampshire bill would protect Christian wedding vendors from gay ‘marriage’ lawsuits

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Image via Wikipedia CONCORD, January 30, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - A bill that would protect Christian wedding vendors from being forced to provide their services to homosexual couples is making its way through the New Hampshire legislature. Although the “business protection bill” was prompted by the legalization of gay “marriage,” in New Hampshire, the legislation does not specifically reference homosexual couples. Instead, it allows business owners to turn away customers on the basis of “conscience or religious faith.” The bill was introduced by Rep. Frank Sapareto If passed, the bill would protect New Hampshire residents from the kind of lawsuits that have been filed in other parts of the country against business owners who did not want to participate in gay “wedding” ceremonies. Opponents of the measure have complained that the bill’s language is so broad that it would legalize discrimination against inter-racial couples as well. “There are some religions that still believe t

Adultery, underage sex and lying not a problem for more modern Britons

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Image via Wikipedia COLCHESTER, UK , January 29, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) –  Lying, adultery, under-age sex, homosexuality drug-use and buying stolen goods are not of much concern to an increasing number of Britons , a study from the University of Essex has found. In 2000, seven out of ten people said an adulterous affair could never be justified, the  Centre for the Study of Integrity  said in a media release. By 2011 that figure had dropped to around five out of ten. In 2000 four out of ten Britons said keeping money found in the street was never justified; in 2011, the number had dropped to fewer than two in ten. Only one in three condemned lying in their own interests, a slight drop from 2000. Published January 25th, the integrity survey focused not on increasing crime statistics, but on “low level dishonesty and anti-social activities” that indicate a general lowering of moral standards in society. It asked 2000 respondents’ attitudes towards a wide range of topics from lying,

British people, of all or no faiths, must unite to defeat gay ‘marriage’

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Image via Wikipedia Dr John Sentamu , the archbishop of York, (pictured) has told David Cameron , the prime minister, not to legalize gay marriage *. He said (in an  interview  in the Telegraph this weekend): “Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman ... I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is. It is set in tradition and history and you can’t just [change it] overnight, no matter how powerful you are ... We’ve seen dictators do it in different contexts and I don’t want to redefine very clear social structures that have been in existence for a long time and then overnight the state believes it could go in a particular way ... “ Dr Sentamu rightly alludes to the actions of “dictators” when referring to David Cameron’s plans, for the following reasons: Firstly, consider the enormity of what the government intends to bring about. David Cameron and his government intend to re-define marriage: a fundamental good of human beings, the first and vital c

Ontario’s Catholic leaders take strong stand against homosexual activism in schools

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Image via Wikipedia TORONTO, Ontario , January 27, 2012 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – Ontario’s Catholic leaders are taking a strong stand against homosexual activism in the province’s Catholic schools . In a long-awaited framework for anti-bullying clubs in the schools, they insist that the clubs remain faithful to Catholic teaching, be overseen by a staff advisor who knows and believes the Church’s teaching, and that the clubs cannot engage in activism against Catholic teaching. The Catholic schools’ stand could set up a confrontation with Dalton McGuinty ’s Liberal government. Parents and pro-family activists have been concerned for months that the clubs would simply be gay-straight alliances under a Catholic name. But the framework document, sent to school boards by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) this week, insists GSAs are “not acceptable in Catholic schools.” “We are very grateful to Ontario’s Bishops for listening to the concerns of the many parents regarding