Aug 01, 2003   | COMMENTS     

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican, alarmed by growing legal acceptance of same-sex unions in Europe and North America, is seeking to enlist politicians and worldwide public opinion in its campaign against gay marriages. Instructions calling on politicians to oppose extending rights granted to traditional couples are in a document prepared by the Church’s guardian of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican officials said Monday. The document — “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons” — was scheduled to be released Thursday, the Vatican said. A Vatican official familiar with the document called it a “practical reflection’’ for both Catholic and non-Catholic politicians and public opinion in general. “It asks that the legal recognition accorded the traditional marriages not be extended to same-sex unions,’’ the official told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pope John Paul II and top Vatican officials have been speaking out for months against legislative proposals to legalize same-sex marriages. Catholic teaching says homosexuals must not be subjected to “unjust discrimination” but should be chaste.

Christian group sues Ariz.governor over discrimination order
MESA, Ariz. (AP) — A Christian group has filed a petition with the Arizona Supreme Court arguing that Gov. Janet Napolitano overstepped her authority when she issued an executive order barring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in some state agencies. Rep. John Allen (R-Scottsdale) is one of three state legislators involved in the suit, which was filed by the Alliance Defense Fund. “She is trying to circumvent the system for expedience and for political purpose ... she’s legislating through executive order,” Allen said, referring to Napolitano. Tim Nelson, Napolitano’s general counsel, said the governor acted within her authority and will fight the lawsuit.

Prosecutor: Former Greek Orthodox priest killed by gay lover
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a 24-year-old man with killing a 61-year-old former Greek Orthodox priest with whom he was having an affair, and a former in-law. Tu Luong Hua, of Panorama City, allegedly shot to death his lover, Stanley Adamakis, a former cleric who was jailed for molesting Southern California teen males more than a decade ago, police said last week. Adamakis was found dead July 20 in the parking lot of Adamakis’ apartment complex in Panorama City. Later that same day, police detectives found the body of Yu Huynh, Hua’s former brother-in-law, in the Panorama home Hua and his former in-law shared. Detectives have recovered an assault rifle allegedly used in the murders. Hua, who is being held without bail, was charged this week with two counts of murder and the special circumstances of lying in wait for Adamakis, and committing multiple murders. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty. The motive for the brother-in-law killing was unclear, but investigators said the killing of Adamakis may be related to an ongoing relationship between him and Hua.

Attorneys submit legal briefs for upcoming Shanley trial
BOSTON (AP) — The Rev. Paul Shanley paid to rape and molest teen males and sometimes shared them with other men — including at least one fellow priest, according to court documents filed Monday by attorneys for Shanley’s alleged victims. The filing outlines in graphic detail the scope and breadth of the claims against Shanley, a central figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal that has overwhelmed the church and now awaits Boston’s incoming archbishop, Sean Patrick O’Malley. The documents include 21 affidavits from alleged Shanley victims and a roughly 220-page brief previewing the civil case that attorneys for Gregory Ford and his family plan to present at trial in their lawsuit against the archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, New Hampshire Bishop John B. McCormack and other key figures in the scandal.

Perry to launch court action to recognize his marriage
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Troy Perry, who is the founder of the gay Metropolitan Community Churches, married his longtime partner Phillip Ray De Blieck in Toronto on July 16, and now intends to file a lawsuit to force the government to recognize their union, according to a PlanetOut.com report. “To not recognize my marriage and the marriages of thousands of other same-sex couples, would be discrimination — and we will not stand for that any longer,” Perry said last week. Marriages in foreign countries have traditionally been recognized by the United States under a concept called “lex loci contractus.” Perry believes failure to recognize his marriage would be a violation of international treaty law and the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.