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'Pope Francis was game-changer for LGBT Catholics'
Pope Francis was a "real game-changer" when it came to the Catholic Church's treatment of gay people, a London LGBT+ faith group has said.
Martin Pendergast, the secretary of the LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council, said the pontiff had turned away from "really quite offensive" statements made by his predecessors on issues of sexuality and gender identity.
While Pope Francis maintained the Vatican's position that homosexual acts were sinful, he said gay people should not be marginalised from the Church, adding: "Who am I to judge?"
The LGBT+ Catholics Westminster group met the Pope at the Vatican in 2019, which Mr Pendergast said caused controversy.
"More conservative Catholics were up in arms because they saw this as the Pope affirming an LGBT group such as we were and are," he said.
He described the meeting as a "very significant step" in improving the Church's relations with the LGBT+ community.
"It was a personal affirmation, but it was also an affirmation of the kind of minis
Birmingham Pride to return to city's Gay Village
Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council has confirmed a major transform to the Smithfield project, amid financial "pressures".
The scheme is put to transform the former wholesale market site into homes, retail and leisure space and a new market complex.
But an outline business case document revealed changes to the proposed cultural extend , with the Art Shed building and Round House music venue to be incorporated into a single building rather than two separate structures as originally intended.
The council said it was to reduce the need for funding, as requested by government-appointed commissioners sent in to oversee the authority's financial recovery after it effectively went bankrupt.
The document stated commissioners did not support a funding ask of £209m linked to the proposal's enterprise zone, and it had now been reduced to £172.8m.
The council also confirmed Smithfield's leisure offer was set to change and would no longer offer a "big-box style" leisure complex, including an urban adventure playground and digital immersive experience.
"The leisure offer will now consist of two smal
The day I met a ‘gay conversion therapist’
So-called "gay conversion therapy" may be condemned by experts but it is still permitted in the UK. So what happened when gay podcast host James Barr signed up for simulated "treatment"?
I'm sitting in a room in Northern Ireland opposite a bloke who says he applications "talking therapy" to people who don't want to be gay. And I cannot help feeling worried - despite all the evidence I've read to the contrary, a tiny part of me believes that he may actually convince me that I can choose to terminate being gay.
The gentleman in front of me is Mike Davidson, he's originally from New Zealand and he's invited me into his home, about 30 minutes outside Belfast. It's in a very quiet close of little houses tucked away off a side road, the type of place where everyone knows your business. Do his neighbours comprehend what happens here? I start to feel a little uneasy. It reminds me of my residence town Eastbourne and of being in the closet, hiding my secrets.
Mike welcomes me via a side door into his tiny office and beams: "This is where we do the work."
It's small
Mr Loverman: How BBC series explores ebony LGBT life
In his decades of campaigning, Brown says he experienced physical hostility "a handful of times".
According to recent Home Office numbers, hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation have fallen for the second year in a row, to 22,839 reported incidents in England and Wales.
But, in Brown's view: "For young black men, the world can sometimes feel isolating."
In earlier decades, general figures were sometimes subjected to overuse, like gay footballer Justin Fashanu, who is referenced in Mr Loverman.
Nowadays, Brown says there hold been changes in how black, queer men are perceived - and he instead sees a "sense of celebration and positive role models".
He adds: "Today, TV, organisations, harmony, magazines, and websites allow black Homosexual people to notice themselves and combine , creating community."
Indeed, there are now high-profile black LGBT figures including British Vogue cover star Munroe Bergdorf, number one Head & Heart singer-songwriter MNEK and Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes.
According to Thompson, Mr Loverman "tries to provide distinct perspectives about entity black and Diverse