INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Vatican City, Italy
POPE FRANCIS TELLS A MAN THAT GOD MADE HIM GAY Entertainment
‘BLOOM’ ABOUT BOTTOMING? The prince of gay pop Troye Sivan just keeps growing in his artistic expression on generally sensitive gay content. His phenomenal success globally has not been slowed down by the fact that he is openly gay, sings about his gay love affairs, casts porn stars in his music videos and now, not even by the fact that his new single Bloom (the second release from his upcoming album) is about the experience of bottoming. Sivan hinted at the true meaning of the lyrics in an interview and when asked by Dazed about this he shyly replied “It’s 100 percent about flowers! Call it whatever you wanna call it. I wanna play that song at every Pride. There’s almost a radicalism in just truth, you know?” The lyrics in question include: “It’s true, babe / I’ve been saving this for you / Promise me you’ll hold my hand if I get scared now / Might tell you to take a second baby slow it down / You should know I bloom, I bloom just for you.” Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO, with uniform models
30
Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean who was sexually abused by a Catholic priest, met with the Pope. He said that his sexual orientation came up in the conversation because some bishops in Chile had said he was a pervert who was lying about the abuse. “He told me, ‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter,’” Cruz said. “‘God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care. The Pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are.’” The Catholic Church has no official stance on the origin of homosexuality, so the comments don’t represent a change in doctrine. The remarks show, though, that the Pope doesn’t believe that people choose to be gay. On the other hand, the Catholic Church does not consider homosexuality sinful as long as it’s not acted upon. However, active homosexuality is considered to be “an intrinsic moral evil”. Christopher Lamb, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet the said that the Pope’s remarks to Cruz go “beyond ‘who am I to judge?’ to ‘you are loved by God.’” A spokesperson for the Vatican did not comment on the conversation Cruz had with the Pope.
Australia QANTAS ISSUES GUIDANCE TO STAFF FOR USING GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE The airline’s People and Culture Group reportedly sent employees an information pack regarding appropriate use of gendered language. It advised staff to drop terms such as husband and wife in favour of partner and spouse. ‘Parents’ will be used instead of ‘mother’ and ‘father’ to ensure inclusivity on flights. The language is not only to create a safe space for fliers but also for employees who may identify as LGBTQ+. A spokesperson for the company said that they have a “long and proud history of promoting inclusion among our people, our customers and society. We want Qantas to be an inclusive workplace,” the spokesperson said. The same information pack was reportedly distributed to 150 companies in the country.
