LGBT global news 24-7

Home » Content about Rome

Content about Rome

May 4, 2013
Anti-gay Cardinal Keith O’Brien to be forced into exile by Vatican

Cleric been told by the Vatican to leave the UK so as not to create further embarrassment for the Catholic Church

Friends of the disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien say he’s been ordered by the Vatican into exile and ditch his plans for retirement in Scotland.

The Herald commented that: ‘It is the clearest indication yet of the Vatican's unwillingness to let the matter drift’ of the Cardinal’s sexual assault on male priests when he run seminaries in the 1980s and during a drinks party in Rome.

April 30, 2013
Footballers pressure FIFA for action against gay hate

LGBT football association throws its weight behind calls for FIFA to investigate claims that Nigeria is actively excluding lesbians from the women’s team

While Nigeria’s Football Association has denied claims that lesbians are being excluded from the country’s national team, the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) is backing calls for international governing body FIFA (the international soccer organization) to investigate.

We spoke with Hans Laursen, IGLFA’s communications officer, to learn more about the organization and their work in tackling homophobia in the sport of football.

Why was IGLFA established?

March 21, 2013
Cardinal Keith O'Brien had long-term secret boyfriend

Priests victim of sexual misconduct by the former leader of Scotland's Catholic Church allegedly came forward due to becoming exasperated with the Cardinal's anti-gay remarks

Cardinal Keith O’Brien had a long-standing sexual relationship with a man while he was the leader of Scotland’s Catholic Church.

The man, who left the priesthood in the middle of the last decade, confessed to the relationship after complaints of sexual misconduct from other priests had been revealed.

March 19, 2013
Pope Francis greets anti-gay president Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe's president Mugabe, who says gays are worse than dogs and pigs, has attended Pope's inauguration despite EU travel ban

Zimbabwe’s outspokenly anti-gay president Robert Mugabe has slipped into Italy  for the inauguration of Pope Francis despite a European Union (EU) travel ban due to his abuse of human rights.

Mugabe, banned since 2002 due to allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses, was whisked today (19 March) directly from his plane at Rome international airport to the Vatican.

A priest greeted the 89-year-old president, his wife and son at the airport saying: ‘On behalf of Pope Francis, welcome to the Vatican, welcome to the Holy See’.

March 17, 2013
Cardinal O'Brien accused of sex assault in Rome drinks party

Cardinal O'Brien accused of attempting to grope a priest during a Rome drinking party, while serving as Cardinal

Cardinal Keith O’Brien is alleged to have attempted to grope a priest in Rome on the night of a drinks party celebrating him becoming a ‘prince of the Church’ in October 2003.

The party where O’Brien allegedly tried to grope a man was attended by a noteable bishops and dignitaries.

This is the first direct allegation against the Cardinal and sexual misconduct at the heart of the Catholic Church.

March 14, 2013
The gay Catholic who has refused to have sex his whole life

Stephen Guest isn’t a priest but decided at 12 that as a gay man it would be a sin to ever have sex, or even masturbate, and has remained celibate ever since

In the church Pope Francis I has inherited, it may be hard to believe any normal gay Catholic could be sufficiently devout to have abstained from any kind of sex for his whole life.

But that is what Stephen Guest, now aged 44, has done from 12-years-old when he first started to realize his sexuality.

Guest contacted Gay Star News to question whether we were being fair in our coverage of the Catholic Church. He is not a priest but believes that to have gay sex would be a grave sin. It would condemn his soul to eternal damnation.

March 11, 2013
Anderson Cooper opens up about being gay

'Because I knew I was gay, I knew I was somehow different'

It's been more than six months since Anderson Cooper finally confirmed that he is gay.

Now he is reflecting more on what it was like to grow up gay saying in an interview Monday (11 March) that 'being gay is a blessing' and that he 'couldn't be more proud' to be.

March 1, 2013
Fifth male priest accuses Cardinal O’Brien of ‘inappropriate acts’

As the leader of the Scottish Roman Catholic Church resigns, another priest has stepped forward to accuse the cardinal

Another priest has accused Cardinal Keith O’Brien of initiating ‘inappropriate behavior’.

It is the fifth such allegation to be made public against the former leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, after O’Brien resigned on Monday (25 February).

February 24, 2013
Man accused of brutal murder and torture of gay men telling victim he's a secret agent

A British national has been arrested in Rome on suspicion of brutally stabbing and strangling a gay man and torturing another

John Marshall, a British national, has been arrested in Rome, Italy on suspicion for brutally murdering a gay tour guide and torturing another man.

The suspect met online the victim, a 55 year-old man, in a gay chat room and arranged to meet him in person, reported the The Telegraph today (24 February).

February 15, 2013
Remembering Mario Mieli, Italy's 'first gay intellectual'

He died 30 years ago but he is still alive in the Italian LGBT people's memories and in the Circolo Mario Mieli association's activities

Italy is preparing to remember Mario Mieli, a leading figure in the Italian and international gay movement in the 1970s, on the 30th anniversary of his death (12 March).

Roman association Circolo Mario Mieli, which inherited Mieli’s legacy, will present a book of poems and is going to host a three-day conference in April and a photographic exhibition in Autumn.

Circolo Mario Mieli’s president, Andrea Maccarrone, told Gay Star News: ‘Mario Mieli was a prominent figure in the Italian gay movement of the early years.

February 12, 2013
Pope Factor: Who will be the next Pontiff and what will that mean to gay rights?

Place your bets on who will be the next Pope. But more important than the winner is the direction they will take the church, including on LGBT issues

Put not your faith in princes nor, if you are looking for anything more than pure flutter on the Papal handicap, bookmakers. For with the starting pistol fired on next month’s papal competition a number of online bookies are already quoting odds on the most ‘papabile’ of a long field of cardinals and also-rans.

February 11, 2013
Lille turns from harm to charm

GSN starts off on the wrong foot with Lille but is eventually won over by French charm

My first impressions of Lille were fairly horrific.

I stepped off the Eurostar and the wind was icy - blasts of freezing wintry misery making it difficult and unpleasant to walk.

February 7, 2013
Gay governor says 'Rome is too dangerous for me at night'

Puglia's governor Nichi Vendola says that 'Rome is a dangerous city for gays and lesbians.' Rome's mayor replies: 'Vendola is offending an entire city.'

Italian region Puglia’s governor Nichi Vendola has said that ‘life in Rome is too dangerous for gays and lesbians.’

Interviewed by Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, Vendola, who has been openly gay since he was 18, said: ‘I fear going out alone at night in Rome.’

But Rome’s Mayor Gianni Alemanno attacked the SEL – Sinistra Ecologia Libertà Party – leader’s words.

January 25, 2013
Italian gays will march for French same-sex marriage

The Roman rally will end in front of the French embassy. Meanwhile, thousands of French will march in Paris to support President Hollande's same-sex marriage law

Italian LGBT associations will march in Rome on Sunday (27 January), in support of the French rally for gay marriage which will be held in Paris on the same day.

The French slogan 'Mariage pour tous' (marriage for everyone) will be the motto of the march, starting at 2pm and ending at 5pm in front of the French embassy in Piazza Farnese square.

The event has been jointly organized by several LGBT associations: Circolo Mario Mieli, Agedo, Arcigay, DìGay Project and Gay Center.

December 9, 2012
Nicola Formichetti covers Dazed and Confused December issue

The self-described art director who's collaborated with Lady Gaga, Dolce and Gabbana and Uniqlo styles and stars on the cover of the English style magazine's last issue for 2012

Nicola Formichetti, fashion director for Lady Gaga, Uniqlo and Vogue Hommes Japan is on the cover of this month's Dazed and Confused.

Photographed by Matt Irwin, the half-Italian, half-Japanese fashion director and editor appears alongside the magazine's other cover model Angelababy.

 The December issue is titled under the hash-tag Fantasia and features a compilation of Asia's rising creative talent including artists, actors, models and bloggers.

December 4, 2012
Two cities shortlisted in bid to host World Out Games 2017

The race to host major LGBT sports, human rights and culture event heats up

Openly gay Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo will today host a press conference which will announce the two cities that have been shortlisted to bid to host World Out Games 2017.

Gay Star News can reveal that the shortlisted cities are Miami Beach and Reykjavik.

November 24, 2012
Mother of bullied suicide boy denies he was gay

At the funeral in Rome, Italy, the mother of the 15-year-old boy who hanged himself says that 'the only pink was that of his sensibility'

The mother of the 15-year-old boy who hanged himself after having been bullied on Facebook and at school in Rome, Italy, has denied he was gay.

'If he had been gay, he would have told me,' she said. 'The only pink was that of his sensibility. My son has been crucified like Jesus.’

At the funeral in Rome, Italy, the woman added: ‘His friends are now my only hope. But several people have defamed him. Now I want justice.’

November 23, 2012
Italy remembers bullied boy who committed suicide

Two different marches took place in Rome and Bologna and the capital's prosecutors now open an inquest

Italy is commemorating ‘AS’, the 15-year-old Roman boy who committed suicide this week after having been bullied on Facebook and at school.

Two different commemorations took place yesterday (22 November) evening, one in Rome, close to the boy’s school, and one in Bologna’s main square.

In Rome, a march, which had not been authorized by the police, started and ended near the Colosseum.

November 22, 2012
Italian boy commits suicide after Facebook and school gay hate

15-year-old boy loved to wear pink trousers and pink jumpers, but was derided on Facebook and at his high school

A 15-year-old boy has committed suicide after having been bullied on social networks and at school in Rome, Italy.

'AS', a student from the Cavour high school, in Rome's city center, loved to wear pink trousers and pink jumpers and someone created a fake profile on Facebook deriding him for his clothes.

Fabrizio Marrazzo, LGBT association Gay Center’s spokesman, said: ‘Now we want an inquest, we’d like to know what are the reasons that caused his suicide.’

November 19, 2012
Promise of gay marriage from ex-porn star turned politician in Italy

Ilona Staller, also known as Cicciolina, 'little penis', launches a new movement promising same sex marriage 'in churches as well'

A former Italian porn star has founded a new political party promising same-sex marriage ‘in churches as well.’

Ilona Staller, also known as ‘Cicciolina’, has launched her new party, called D.N.A., two days ago, in Rome.

D.N.A, Democrazia, Natura e Amore (democracy, nature and love), will be the only political party running for the next general elections in March and promising same-sex marriage.

Cicciolina, who was a Member of Parliament for the Radical party in the 1980s, was one of the most famous Italian porn stars.

November 10, 2012
Vatican defiant in face of marriage equality wins

The Vatican newspaper has denied that the church is losing the fight on same-sex marriage and has warned US President Barack Obama about moving too fast on social issues

The newspaper of the Holy See in Rome has denied that the Catholic Church is losing the fight on same-sex marriage despite recent gains in the US and France following national elections.

November 1, 2012
Two out of three gay Italians discriminated against

A survey by Rome county and European Union shows that 73% of LGBT people are victims of hate at school, at work and in everyday life

Two out of three lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Italians are still discriminated against, claims a survey of students and LGBT activists by Rome county, Provincia di Roma.

According to the study, 73% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Italians have been victims of some sort of discrimination at school, at work, among relatives and in everyday life.

The survey is part of a European project against discrimination. Called ‘Niso’, it has also been carried out in Belgium, Holland and Estonia.

October 26, 2012
The truth about sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome

GSN takes a look into homosexuality in the ancient Greco-Roman world for LGBT History Month

Sexuality is a topic often whitewashed out of our history books, and we rarely see the place of LGBT people in the ancient world mentioned in television documentaries.

Most of us know that the ancient pagan world was more tolerant of homosexuality than the one god religions that would follow. But how tolerant were the ancient Greeks and Romans? It turns out they weren’t nearly as tolerant as you might like to think.

Neither the Greeks or the Romans had a concept of homosexuality or heterosexuality.

October 5, 2012
Denver pulls out of bid to host World OutGames 2017

Four cities are left in the running as World OutGames confirms that US city Denver has ruled itself out of consideration

Paul Brummitt, chairperson of selection committee of the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA - the organization that runs the World Outgames every four years) has confirmed today that US city Denver has withdrawn its bid to host the 2017 World OutGames.

September 25, 2012
Travel the world with gay sports

Planning your holidays around your favorite gay sports? Here’s GSN’s guide to what’s in store

The world of LGBT sport is increasingly busy, with an ever-growing number of national and international single and multi-sport tournaments on offer.

One of the key drivers for this is the tourism value that can be created by an LGBT sports tournament, and major cities around the world are actively supporting local clubs and organizations to host events and attract international visitors.