Excerpted from Gays Must Change, Says Archbishop, by Jonathan Wynne-Hughes, published Aug 27, 2006, in The Telegraph:

The archbishop of Canterbury has told homosexuals that they need to change their behaviour if they are to be welcomed into the church…

…The Rev Rod Thomas, a spokesman for the evangelical pressure group Reform, said: “There is no doubt that he is distancing himself from the views that he has previously expressed. He’s right to want to see people converted. The fact that he’s saying this is a hugely welcome development.”

The revelations came in a newspaper interview last week in which the archbishop denied that it was time for the church to accept homosexual relationships, suggesting that it should be welcoming rather than inclusive. “I don’t believe inclusion is a value in itself. Welcome is. We don’t say ‘Come in and we ask no questions’. I do believe conversion means conversion of habits, behaviours, ideas, emotions,” he told a Dutch journalist.

“Ethics is not a matter of a set of abstract rules, it is a matter of living the mind of Christ. That applies to sexual ethics.”

…The archbishop said that he was determined to preserve the unity of the church from being destroyed by the warring factions in the gay crisis. He said he has backed a resolution which says that homosexual practice is incompatible with the Bible.

Excerpted from Tragedy Hits Another Party Hosted by Flamboyant Count, by Ben Taylor and Olinka Koster, published Aug 24, 2006, in Daily Mail:

A man has plunged to his death from a riotous gay party in the penthouse flat of a German aristocrat.

The victim, in his 30s, fell 60ft from the roof garden of the Chelsea home of openly homosexual Count Gottfried Alexander von Bismarck.

Twenty years ago, the count was at the centre of a scandal over the squalid death of a Cabinet member’s daughter.

He was the ringleader of a ‘poor little rich set’ and hosted the notorious Oxford party at which Olivia Channon – daughter of Trade Secretary Paul Channon – died of a heroin overdose.

Tragedy returned to haunt 43-year- old von Bismarck after he hosted another hedonistic party – described by police sources as a “riotous all-night gay bash.”

Continue reading at Daily Mail…

UPDATE

Excerpted from Man Dies After Gay Sex Party At Aristocrat’s Home, published Oct 5, 2006, by Associated Press:

Anthony Casey, 38, fell 18 metres from a roof terrace at Count Gottfried von Bismarck’s London apartment Aug. 23 London police concluded that the death was an accident and four people at the party, including Bismarck, have been told they will not face charges.

Dr. Paul Knapman, presiding in Westminster Coroner’s Court, said one room of the apartment contained a “bizarre” assortment of items including a large rubber tarpaulin on the floor, towels, lubricants, bottles of vodka, buckets of sex toys and a TV set up to show pornography.

“In common parlance, in the early hours of the morning, there was a gay orgy going on,” Knapman said.

Continue reading at 365Gay…

Excerpted from Catholic Agency Finds Way Out of Adoption Ban, by Elizabeth Fernandez, published Aug 27, 2006, in The San Francisco Chronicle:

…Next month, the collaboration formally begins between Catholic Charities CYO and California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption exchange run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Family Builders by Adoption. The two agencies will work in conjunction with the state Department of Social Services, which oversees about 82,000 foster children.

“Many, many more children will now find permanent homes,” said Jill Jacobs, executive director of Family Builders. “When Catholic Charities first approached us, I was very hesitant. My organization has a long history of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. It was really ironic — I had to make sure that our integrity and values were not compromised.”

Continue reading in The San Francisco Chronicle…

The following is AFT President Peter LaBarbera’s response to an intolerant pro-homosexual activist who urged him (in the name of tolerance!) to “Leave Naperville now.” AFT is based in Naperville, IL, in the western suburbs of Chicago:

Dear Reva,

You are very intolerant, if your letter is any indication. Try to be open to other points of view. Sorry, we’re not leaving Naperville despite the anti-religious bigotry of activists like you. By the way, I have denounced Fred Phelps and his ridiculous “God Hates Fags” message (see the story, “LaBarbera Condemns Fred Phelps’ “God Hates Fags” Message and Threatened Picket at Soldier’s Funeral” on Illinois Family Institute’s website).

Tolerance is all about tolerating dissenting viewpoints, while engaging in civil debate–i.e., refraining from abusive rhetoric and conduct toward your opponents. Sadly, your menacing note does not qualify.

Sincerely,

Peter LaBarbera
Founder and President
Americans for Truth

Original note to AFT:

From: Reva Shayne Lewis [mailto:RevaShayneLewis@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2006 11:02 PM
To: americansfortruth@comcast.net
Subject: [AFT Web Site] Naperville
The following message was sent from the Americans for Truth Web site:

Please take your hate-filled agenda and ignorance to some other town. Naperville is very gay-friendly and is continuing to grow into a gay-friendly town. Hence, the GLBT alliances [“gay-straight alliance” student groups] in our high schools and local gay support groups. You are no better than those hateful Westboro Baptist Church people who picket dead soldiers because of “America’s acceptance of homosexuality”. Leave Naperville now.

Excerpted from APA President Signals Policy Change on Homosexuality, by Pete Winn, published Aug 25, 2006, by CitizenLink:

The message that gays can change may finally be getting through.

Ex-gay groups and organizations that counsel people with unwanted same-sex attractions say they are pleased, but puzzled, by recent remarks by the top official of the American Psychological Association.

At a town-hall meeting during the APA’s convention in New Orleans, APA President Gerald P. Koocher responded to questions about the organization’s pro-homosexual positions — and its lack of recognition of former homosexuals and their therapists.

Koocher’s response was simple: “APA has no conflict with psychologists who help those distressed by unwanted homosexual attraction.”

Continue reading at CitizenLink…

Excerpted from article by Jake Griffin, published in Aug 2006, in Daily Herald:

…Peter LaBarbera has resigned as executive director of the conservative Glen Ellyn-based Illinois Family Institute to breathe new life into the inactive Americans For Truth, he said Tuesday.

“I’m trying in some way to answer the many, many groups spending millions and millions of dollars promoting homosexuality,” LaBarbera said. “It’s a lopsided political battle.”

Continue reading in Daily Herald…

Excerpted from Campus Gay Point Average, by Sarah Schweitzer, published Aug 25, 2006, on Boston.com:

The Advocate, the national newsmagazine for gays and lesbians, published a 389-page book this month listing the 100 schools that it says offer the best discrimination protection, most friendly climate, and most extensive campus services for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students…
MIT, for one, made the top 100. The school is cited for having one of the nation’s oldest gay and lesbian student groups and for early on including both sexual orientation and gender identity in its nondiscrimination policy, yielding what the book, The Advocate College Guide, calls a high “gay point average.”

…The book arrives as surveys show that more gay and lesbian students are coming out at younger ages, often in high school, placing the climate of a college campus at the forefront of more students’ minds as they select schools.

…The book … identified a top 20, including Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Since 1992, the Princeton Review, has ranked the 20 schools that it considers the most and the least “gay community accepted.” This year, the review ranked New York University as most gay friendly and Notre Dame as most inhospitable.

Excerpted from Unmarried Couple Want Benefits, Too, by Curt Woodward, published Aug 23, 2006, by Associated Press:

By Curt Woodward

One of the first tests for Washington state’s new gay civil rights law has an intriguing twist: The complaint was filed by a heterosexual woman.

The state’s discrimination watchdogs are investigating the case, which claims unmarried straight people should get the same domestic partner benefits as their gay and lesbian co-workers.

…The complaint, filed last week, is one of four that have spawned full-fledged investigations under the sexual orientation section of Washington’s anti-discrimination law.It was signed by Sandi Scott-Moore, a Redmond-based employee of manufacturer Honeywell International. Scott-Moore claims health insurance coverage for her male partner was denied because the unmarried couple are not of the same gender.

Honeywell spokesman Robert Ferris said the company does provide health benefits for the partners of its gay and lesbian employees and has a zero-tolerance stand on discrimination. But the company disagrees with Scott-Moore, he said in a statement.

Continue reading at Seattle PI…