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by Norwegian Support of Gays Vatican Suicide Remembered |
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By Rex Wockner
International News Report Zambia Angered by Norwegian Support of Gays
A $1,000 grant by the Norwegian government to an embattled
Zambian gay group has angered Zambian religious leaders and
government officials, the All Africa News Agency reported January
11.
Norwegian Ambassador to Zambia Jon Lomoy gave the money to the Zambia Independent Monitoring Team -- the umbrella group for the nation's human-rights organizations -- which funneled it to the Lesbian, Gay and Transgender Association (LEGATRA) to fund workshops and a radio program.
Late last year, Home Affairs Minister Peter Machungwa threatened LEGATRA's leaders with imprisonment if they appeared at the office of Registrar of Societies Herbert Nyendwa, who insisted he would never cast his eyes upon the group's application forms. At the same time, Zambian Vice President Christon Tembo proclaimed: "An association formed to further the interests of homosexuals can never be registered in Zambia. Those who will persist in championing the cause for homosexual activities in Zambia risk being arrested for the felonies of committing criminal acts or for conspiracy to commit criminal acts." Vatican Suicide Remembered
Fifteen members of Italy's leading gay group, Arci Gay, laid a
wreath near the Vatican's St. Peter's Square January 13 in memory of
the man who set himself on fire there one year ago in protest
against the Catholic Church's teachings on gays.
Police refused to let the activists into the square itself. "The rejection by the ecclesiastical community is a burning wound for homosexuals," said Arci Gay President Sergio Lo Giudice. "Sooner or later the Vatican will have to ask homosexuals for forgiveness just like it did to the Jews. ... We are here because Alfredo chose to kill himself here. The Vatican has a moral responsibility for the malaise in which many homosexuals live these days." On January 13, 1998, Alfredo Ormando, 40, torched himself and rushed fully ablaze toward the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica. He collapsed before he reached the door and later died. Notes found in his coat said he was protesting society's failure to understand homosexuals. The Catholic Church does not condemn gays directly but insists that any sex act that is not open to the possibility of pregnancy is a "mortal sin" that leads to Hell. |
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