Deep Reads: A gay uple ran a rtrant peace. Then new neighbors arrived. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• POLISH PRIT WH VATIN TI SACKED AFTER REVEALG HE IS GAY
• GAY PRIT CRI 'HUMAN' TREATMENT OF HOMOSEXUAL CATHOLICS
• NEW POLISH FILM EXAM THE LIFE OF A GAY CATHOLIC PRIT
• POLISH MOVIE ABOUT GAY CATHOLIC PRIT STIRRG CONTROVERSY
• POLAND FENDS CATHOLIC PRIT WHO ATTACKED GAY CLERGY
• MEET SZYMON NIEMIEC, THE GAY PRIT LEADG POLAND’S FIGHT FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS
• GAY VATIN PRIT SPEND POLISH DCE
• HE’S OUT: BISHOP SPENDS POLISH GAY PRIT
• EX-VATIN OFFICIAL KRZYSZTOF CHARAMSA: 'I'M A GAY MAN. I'M NOT A MONSTER'
• VATIN FIR POLISH PRIT AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY TO REPORTERS
• COURT F POLISH THEOLOGIAN FOR REFERRG TO GAY PRITS AS “CANCERO GROWTH”
• POLISH PRIT LOS APPEAL ANTI-GAY HATE SPEECH TRIAL, ORRED TO PAY F

POLISH PRIT WH VATIN TI SACKED AFTER REVEALG HE IS GAY

But this year’s events are takg place at a time when homophobia is on the rise Poland, fueled by hateful ments om the ernment and Roman Catholic Church (RCC) lears. Acrdg to a 2020 survey by ILGA-Europe, a Bssels-based advocy group, Poland ranks as the most homophobic untry of the E.

Those who bully LGBTQ people are embolned by homophobic policians, ” says Bart Staszewski, a Polish director and LGBTQ rights activist.

His edor chief sent him to report on what Niemiec lls one of the first gay monstratns the cy.

GAY PRIT CRI 'HUMAN' TREATMENT OF HOMOSEXUAL CATHOLICS

The spontaneo cisn was both his g out as gay and first act of LGBTQ activism. Later, he began trag as a psychologist while workg as a cultural ambassador of Poland to the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Culture Network, a post he held om 2000 to 2006.

The Network aims to brg together groups and dividuals around the world to end homophobia through culture.

Some prits have outed the name of a gay person om the pulp and scribed them as a danger to the muny, ” says Niemiec. The Fah and Rabow Foundatn has been tryg to hold parish and prits to acunt over public homophobic statements.

NEW POLISH FILM EXAM THE LIFE OF A GAY CATHOLIC PRIT

‘I am now an openly gay Catholic and I stand wh my head high’ The most important aspect of the group’s work, says Pawlik, is lol meetgs for LGBTQ Christians, many of whom “are difficult suatns and eply the closet. ” It tght him “what the bible really wr about LGBT people and how to terpret , ” he says, “I am now an openly gay Catholic and I stand wh my head high.

The activist says there is also a need Poland for clergy-n pastoral re specifilly for LGBTQ Catholics as an alternative to the pastoral iativ sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church, which, acrdg to her, plac an emphasis on “curg” people om homosexualy. A Polish prit who has worked for the Vatin for more than a has been sacked after he revealed he was gay and had a Krzysztof Charamsa, 43, who held a post the Vatin’s branch for protectg Catholic dogma, urged the Catholic church to change s “backwards” attu to disclosed two separate terviews wh an Italian newspaper and a Polish news programme that he had a Spanish male announcement on Saturday me on the eve of a major synod of bishops on the fay, which will addrs a range of subjects cludg prit and his partner later posed for photographs at a prs nference held a rtrant Rome. “It’s time for the church to open s ey about gay Catholics and to unrstand that the solutn propos to them – total abstence om a life of love – is human, ” he told the Italian daily Corriere lla Sera, sayg he wanted to challenge the Church’s ‘paranoia’.

”The prit, had held a post at the ngregatn of the doctre of the fah sce 2003 and tght theology at pontifil universi Rome, posts om which he has also been Vatin said the dismissal had nothg to do wh Charamsa’s reflectns on his personal life, which said “mer rpect” said his terviews and the planned monstratn was “grave and irrponsible” given their timg on the eve of a synod of bishops who will discs fay issu, cludg the church’s posn on gay Vatin said his actns were aimed at subjectg the synod, which Pope Francis opens on Sunday, to “undue media prsure” Pope prid at prayer vigil for the synod on Saturday night before tens of thoands of people St Peter’s the news nference, Charamsa said he wanted to make “an enormo noise for the good of the church” and apply “good Christian prsure” on the synod not to fet homosexual believers. “This cisn of me to e out was a very personal one taken a Catholic church that is homophobic and very difficult and harsh [towards gay people], ” he said.

POLISH MOVIE ABOUT GAY CATHOLIC PRIT STIRRG CONTROVERSY

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Mistry, which misters to Catholic gay people, said the Vatin’s move was “sadly disappotg”.

“It is unfortunate that church lears did not see Charamsa’s announcement as an opportuny for further dialogue wh someone they have known and tsted, ” DeBarnardo the news nference, Charamsa suggted that a study be ma of how many homosexuals work the Vatin. “I ask the pope to be strong and to remember , homosexuals, lbians, transsexuals and bisexuals as children of the church and members of humany, ” Charamsa issue of homosexualy forms only a ty part of the synod’s agenda, but has domated the n-up to the three-week meetg and bee a lightng rod for a broar bate between reformists and nservativ the church.

Media ptn, Krzysztof Charamsa's rignatn letter cricised the Vatin for hypocrisy publicly nmng homosexualyA senr Vatin prit, stripped of his post after admtg beg a gay relatnship, has lnched a sthg attack on the Roman Catholic a letter to Pope Francis this month, Krzysztof Charamsa acced the Church of makg the liv of lns of gay Catholics globally "a hell". He cricised what he lled the Vatin's hypocrisy banng gay prits, even though he said the clergy was "full of homosexuals" Francis has yet to 3 October, Monsignor Charamsa held a senr post at the Vatin at the Congregatn for the Doctre of the Fah, the partment that upholds Roman Catholic doctre. The Vatin immediately stripped him of his post after he held a news nference a rtrant Rome to announce that he was both gay and a relatnship.

POLAND FENDS CATHOLIC PRIT WHO ATTACKED GAY CLERGY

'Rights nied'The Polish prit has released to the BBC a py of the letter he sent to the Pope, wrten the same day as the announcement, which he cricis the Church for "persecutg" and g "immeasurable sufferg" to homosexual Catholics and their fai. He says that after a "long and tormented perd of discernment and prayer", he had taken the cisn to "publicly reject the vlence of the Church towards homosexual, lbian, bisexual, transsexual and tersexual people".

MEET SZYMON NIEMIEC, THE GAY PRIT LEADG POLAND’S FIGHT FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS

Image source, EPAImage ptn, The prit has acced the Church of g "immeasurable sufferg" to homosexual CatholicsImage source, APImage ptn, His cisn to "e out" has ed nsternatn some Roman Catholic circlThe 43-year-old says that while the Roman Catholic clergy is "full of homosexuals", is also "equently vlently homophobic", and he lls on "all gay rdals, gay bishops and gay prits [to] have the urage to abandon this sensive, unfair and btal Church" says he n no longer bear the "homophobic hate of the Church, the excln, the margalisatn and the stigmatisatn of people like me", whose "human rights are nied" by the Church. Church attu unchangedThe prit go on to thank Pope Francis - who is thought to have a more lenient attu on homosexualy than some of his precsors - for some of his words and gtur towards gay people.

The Pope recently met a gay former stunt of his durg his recent vis to the US, and has prevly said that gay people should not be margalised society. But Krzysztof Charamsa says that the pontiff's words will only be worthwhile when all the statements om the Holy See that are offensive and vlent agast homosexuals are whdrawn.

He also urged the Church to annul a cisn taken by his precsor, Pope Emer Benedict XVI, to sign a document 2005 that forbids men wh ep-rooted homosexual tennci om beg Polish prit terms "diabolil" Pope Benedict's statement that homosexualy was "a strong tenncy orred toward an trsic moral evil". Image source, AFPImage ptn, Pope Francis is thought to have a more lenient attu on homosexualy than some of his precsorsImage source, RtersImage ptn, The Synod on the Fay end on Sunday, but ma no change to s pastoral attu to gay CatholicsThe prit wr that LGBT Catholics have a right to fay life, "even if the Church do not want to bls " later cricis the Vatin for puttg prsure on stat which have legalised equal or same-sex marriage. The synod end on Sunday, but ma no change to s pastoral attu to gay Catholics.

GAY VATIN PRIT SPEND POLISH DCE

The fal document agreed by the Synod Fathers reerated Church teachg that gay Catholics should be weled wh "rpect" and "digny". But rtated that there was "no basis for any parison, however remote, between homosexual unns and God's sign for marriage and the fay".

HE’S OUT: BISHOP SPENDS POLISH GAY PRIT

A new Polish film about a Catholic prit who is stgglg wh his homosexualy took the prize for the bt gay-themed movie at the prtig Berl Internatnal Film Ftival. “We have very strong discsns now Poland, about the church, about homosexualy.

“Gay prits hardly raise an eyebrow anymore Wtern films, but is rare that their sexual angst is portrayed as sensively as Poland’s Berl petn entry In the Name Of…., which hovers an tertg middle ground between Gothic exprsnism and psychologil drama, heightened by a fe st and outstandg performanc... New film’s tolerance, propped up by a reful distctn between homosexualy and pedophilia, is unlikely to aroe much ntroversy among the kd of art hoe dienc the Memento tle will attract, though uld provoke prott om tradnal Catholic groups.

EX-VATIN OFFICIAL KRZYSZTOF CHARAMSA: 'I'M A GAY MAN. I'M NOT A MONSTER'

A new Polish movie premierg at this year's Berl film ftival is g a stir bee of s foc – a gay Roman Catholic prit. The movie follows the life of a gay Roman Catholic prit who suffers through lonels while workg wh troubled youths Poland volved wh dgs and alhol. "We have very strong discsns now Poland, about the church, about homosexualy.

A Hollywood Reporter review of the film noted, "The new film's tolerance, propped up by a reful distctn between homosexualy and pedophilia, is unlikely to aroe much ntroversy among the kd of art hoe dienc the Memento tle will attract, though uld provoke prott om tradnal Catholic groups. "Official Roman Catholic Church doctre scrib homosexual acts as a "vlatn of dive and natural law, " but says that "people tempted by homosexual sir, like people tempted by improper heterosexual sir, are not sng until they act upon those sir some manner.

VATIN FIR POLISH PRIT AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY TO REPORTERS

"Catholics have also often opposed claims that their fense of tradnal marriage n be viewed as "homophobic" or "tolerant.

COURT F POLISH THEOLOGIAN FOR REFERRG TO GAY PRITS AS “CANCERO GROWTH”

""Homosexual persons are lled to chasty.

Poland’s ernment has acced neighbourg Germany of “endangerg relig liberty” after a proment Polish prit was sentenced for cement after scribg gay clergy an article as “ncero paras”.

POLISH PRIT LOS APPEAL ANTI-GAY HATE SPEECH TRIAL, ORRED TO PAY F

The mister was reactg to the Cologne District Court’s imposn of a 4800-ro fe or 120-day prison term on Mgr Dariz Oko, a theology profsor at Krakow’s John Pl II Pontifil Universy, for allegg the German Catholic magaze Theologisch that the Church was “paralysed by an ternal homosexual mafia” agast actg effectively agast cleril sex abe.

A se agast the 61-year-old Pole, whose prev book, Lavenr Mafia, was also attacked as homophobic, was brought by a Munich-based prit, Fr Wolfgang Rothe, who told the German prs agency, DPA, there should be “no place the Catholic Church for sprears of hatred and agatn”.

You are here: Home / Misc / Meet Szymon Niemiec, the Gay Prit Leadg Poland’s Fight for LGBTQ Rights for the Past 20 Years.