Tlaxcala, Mexico, May 26, 2021 / 12:52 pm To avoid being left out of the 2021 Mexican elections because of a constitutional principle of “gender parity”, 18 male candidates from the Force for Mexico party […]
Denver Newsoom, May 21, 2021 / 14:18 pm America/Denver (CNA). Is it possible to be gay and Catholic? After extensive interviews, CNA has found that to a silent majority, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. […]
Parliament buildings, Stormont, Belfast Credit: Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock
Belfast, Northern Ireland, May 20, 2021 / 18:01 pm (CNA).
After Northern Ireland lawmakers passed a resolution to develop a ban on “conversion therapy” regarding sexua… […]
Francisco José Contreras, a member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies for Seville. Credit: Hazteoir.org
Madrid, Spain, May 19, 2021 / 13:01 pm (CNA).
Twitter briefly suspended last week Francisco José Contreras, a member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies from the far right Vox party, for breaking its hate speech rules.
He had posted: “a man cannot get pregnant. A man does not have a uterus or eggs.”
The May 11 suspension lasted 12 hours, and Twitter warned him that “repeated breaches can lead to permanent suspension of your account.”
Contreras’ post took place in the context of the debate on a bill that would have allowed those who identify as transgender to change their identity on government documents with no need for a medical certificate or court approval.
The bill was blocked in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Spain’s parliament, by a May 18 vote.
Contreras said on Facebook that Twitter accused him of breaking its rules, “specifically, for the following reasons: Breaking the rules that prohibit hate speech.”
“It is not allowed to threaten, harass or promote violence against other people because of their race, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, age, disability or illness,” Twitter stated.
On Facebook, Contreras slammed Twitter for forcing him to delete his post to keep his account active, commenting, “you can see this is already fascist biology. Next time I’ll try 2 +2 = 4.”
Vox opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender ideology. It is an opposition party in the parliament, though the government is a minority coalition.
Countries such as Hungary and Poland are considering regulations that would prevent social media from censoring content that does not go against the laws of their countries.
In January, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, declared, “there is not and cannot be consent to censorship.”
“The algorithms or the owners of corporate giants should not decide which views are correct and which are not.”
Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA.
Toronto, Canada, May 13, 2021 / 17:01 pm (CNA).
While the Toronto Catholic School District Board has voted to proclaim June as Pride Month and fly the rainbow LGBT Pride flag outside all its schools, the Catholic archdioces… […]
Credit: GUNDAM_Ai / Shutterstock.
CNA Staff, Apr 21, 2021 / 16:03 pm (CNA).
The Australian Diocese of Parramatta has split with other Catholic leaders in responding to a new bill that would ban the discussion of “gender fluidity” in classrooms.&… […]
Washington D.C., Mar 23, 2021 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- Legal experts on Monday explained how the Equality Act could threaten the integrity of Catholic parishes, charities, and schools.
The Equality Act, passed by the U.S. House on Feb. 25, would amend feder… […]
Washington D.C., Mar 11, 2021 / 11:30 am (CNA).- A new executive order could promote gender ideology in public and some private schools while affecting both the privacy of women and the intellectual freedom of […]
Washington D.C., Feb 19, 2021 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The U.S. bishops’ conference (USCCB) has come out in opposition to the Equality Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House on Thursday.
The bill, introduced by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I… […]
Brasilia, Brazil, Feb 17, 2021 / 03:52 pm (CNA).- The head of Brazil’s military ordinariate has told the nation’s bishops’ conference he will not use material from this year’s ecumenical Lenten campaign because it contains gender ideology concepts.
“The evangelization of the faithful at any time, but especially in a special time such as Catholic Lent, is not a place for dialogue on themes that are polemical and contrary to the authentic doctrine of our Church,” Archbishop Fernando Jose Monteiro Guimarães of the Military Ordinariate of Brazil wrote Feb. 8.
“Interreligious dialogue is necessary and opportune when, respecting various expressions of faith, it is carried out in the competent sees,” Archbishop Guimarães added in his letter to Archbishop Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo of Belo Horizonte, president of the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil.
The military archbishop stressed that “it is the responsibility of the diocesan bishops, as authentic teachers and guardians of the deposit of faith, to guarantee the orthodoxy of the faith that is preached to the faithful in their diocese.”
“This mission, the object of solemn oath on the part of each one of us before our episcopal ordination, commits my conscience as bishop and I will never be able to renounce it.”
“For this reason, I inform you that in the Military Archdiocese of Brazil, during Lent this year, we will follow the theological-liturgical guidelines proper to the Lenten season and will not use any of the materials officially produced for this year’s Fraternity Campaign,” Archbishop Guimarães stated.
He added that “our military chaplains are being given guidelines, in case they wish to address the Fraternity Campaign, to use only Pope Francis’ Fratelli tutti.”
“Also the percentage of the collection allocated to this episcopal conference – and distributed to other entities promoting the campaign – will not be sent and, of course, really and effectively, it will be used to help the poor, through the social work recognized by the Military Ordinary. Regarding this use, it will be my responsibility to present the accounts respectively to the presidency” Archbishop Guimarães concluded.
The Fraternity Campaign is a prominent Catholic fundraiser celebrated in Brazil during Lent; every five years it is carried out in conjunction with mainline ecclesial communities.
This year’s campaign is entitled “Fraternity and dialogue: commitment of love”, and the motto is a phrase from the Letter from Paul to the Ephesians: “Christ is our peace: he who made one of both peoples.”
Controversy over this year’s campaign arose because the material for parish meditations during Lent includes a text that says: “another social group that suffers the consequences of systemic politics and violence and the creation of enemies is the LGBTQ+ population.”
It provides information on alleged violence against gay people sourced from the “Grupo Gay da Bahía,” a homosexual lobby group, and claims that “193 LGBTQ+ were murdered in 2017.”
“These homicides are the effects of hate speech, religious fundamentalism, voices against the recognition of the rights of LGBTQ+ populations and other persecuted and vulnerable groups,” the text says.
The presidency of the Brazilian bishops’ conference issued a statement Feb. 9 explaining that the materials for the Fraternity Campaign were prepared by the National Council of Christian Churches, and “therefore, it is not a text in the style of what would happen if it were prepared by the CNBB commission, since we have two different theological understandings, although around the same ideal of serving Jesus Christ.”
The bishops’ statement referenced numbers 67 and 68 of the Fraternity Campaign text and quoted the 2003 Pontifical Council for the Family’s “Lexicon on ambiguous and debatable terms regarding family life and ethical questions” that gender “must obey the natural order already predisposed by the body.”
The Brazilian bishops state that the money will not be spent in projects that are inconsistent with Catholic teachings.
“From the beginning of the 2021 Fraternity Campaign, we have informed the NCC about the difficulty and even the impossibility of working together in the structure of the Fraternity Campaign, unlike previous ecumenical campaigns. On this point, based on the last campaigns, that of 2016, this presidency (of the CNBB) has already expressed the difficulties and, in a spirit of communion and co-responsibility, will discuss the matter in a future meeting and the conclusion will be reported immediately,” concludes the bishops’ statement.
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