Endtime Magazine Jan-Feb 2013 | Page 25

The move, which has outraged Catholics, means only the word “parents” would be used in identical marriage ceremonies for all heterosexual and same-sex couples. The draft law states that “marriage is a union of two people, of different or the same gender”. It says all references to “mothers and fathers” in the civil code – which enshrines French law – will be swapped for simply “parents”. The law would also give equal adoption rights to homosexual and heterosexual couples. Gay Characters at Record High on US Television Reuters – October 5, 2012 New shows “The New Normal,” “Girls” and comedy “Go On” have helped US television rack up a record number of gay, bisexual and transgender characters, gay rights group GLAAD said on Friday. In its 8th annual report tracking gender and ethnic diversity on television, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said on Friday there will be 111 LGBT characters in regular or recurring roles on scripted shows across US television. Inclusive TV shows now range from crime and medical series like “Grey’s Anatomy”, to long-running teen dramas like Canada’s “Degrassi” on Teennick and British period favorite “Downton Abbey” with its duplicitous gay butler Thomas Barrow. GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said the increasing numbers reflect “a cultural change in the way gay and lesbian people are seen in our society.” Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters Rally in Paris AFP – November 18, 2012 Thousands of Catholics and other opponents of French government plans to legalize gay marriage and same-sex adoption marched in Paris on Sunday, a day after more than 100,000 turned out across France for the cause. The protesters included several young people wearing cassocks, a Christian clerical garment. Others waved the French flag and banners depicting the Christian cross and other emblems. Pope Says Future of Mankind at Stake Over Gay Marriage Telegraph – December 21, 2012 Pope Benedict XVI has weighed in on a heated debate over gay marriage, criticizing new concepts of the traditional family and warning that mankind itself was at stake. “In the fight for the family, the very notion of being – of what being human really means – is being called into question,” the Pope said in Italian during an end-of-year speech. He cited feminist gender theorist Simone de Beauvoir’s view to the effect that one is not born a woman, but one becomes so – that sex was no longer an element of nature but a social role people chose for themselves. “The profound falsehood of this theory and of the anthropological revolution contained within it is obvious,” he said. The defense of the family, the Pope said, “Is about man himself. And it becomes clear that when God is denied, human dignity also disappears.” e