Catholics Urge Pope Francis to Speak Out for LGBT Rights
A group of Catholics is urging Pope Francis to speak out against laws criminalizing homosexuality.
BY Michael O'Loughlin
January 28 2014 4:34 PM ET
A group advocating for the full inclusion of LGBT people in the Roman Catholic Church has launched an online campaign urging Pope Francis to speak out against laws criminalizing homosexuality around the world.
The No More Triangle Nations project encourages Twitter users to use the hashtag #PopeSpeakOut to ask Pope Francis to condemn laws in Nigeria, Russia, Uganda, India, and Jamaica, places that “legislate and enforce death dealing policies and/or the suspension of civil rights based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” according to the campaign’s website.
“By sending tweets to the pope, we want to move him to speak out against these laws, many of which have been supported by Catholic leaders and people in these nations,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, the organization that launched the project, in a press release last week. “We need a powerful, faith-based statement from Pope Francis to support the freedom and lives of our LGBT sisters and brothers.”
Visitors to the website choose from three prewritten Tweets:
•Last yr Russia, last month Uganda, yesterday Nigeria, today we ask Christians & @pontifex to say “No More Triangle Nations!” #PopeSpeakOut
•@Pontifex Call Christians around the world to love gay people not legislate their extinction. #PopeSpeakOut
•@Pontifex As a voice for the voiceless please publicly condemn anti-gay laws! #PopeSpeakOut
http://www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2014/01/28/catholics-urge-pope-francis-speak-out-lgbt-rights
http://nomoretrianglenations.com/
http://www.newwaysministry.org/