|| News ||
Page 1 of 1

Obama "Wrestling" With Faith and LGBT Issues


In preparation for his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Italy this Friday, President Barack Obama held a roundtable with members of the Catholic media at the White House last Thursday, reports Fox News . During the 45-minute meeting, which was kept off the White House schedule, Obama said that he is "wrestling" with his Christian faith and "concern for gays and lesbians."

Dan Gilgoff, religion reporter for U.S. News and World Report, posted the following remarks from Obama to the Catholic media:

"For the gay and lesbian community in this country, I think it's clear that they feel victimized in fairly powerful ways and they're often hurt by not just certain teachings of the Catholic Church, but the Christian faith generally. And as a Christian, I'm constantly wrestling with my faith and my solicitude and regard and concern for gays and lesbians."

According to Gilgoff, Obama also characterized the decision to have an abortion in a less than favorable light, and said that he receives a daily devotional reading on his BlackBerry.

Read more excerpts from Obama's sit-down with the Catholic media here .

Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter. Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
  • Name: Jon
    Date posted: 7/14/2009 1:44:00 PM
    Hometown: Lakefield

    Comment:

    For one to be wrestling with oneself one would first need to be doing something that would cause contradiction. There has been nothing to date that Obama has done that should cause him to to feel this way. Where in bible does it say that homosexuals can't serve openly in the military? Why would it be anti-Christian to say that one can't be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation? Mr. Obama, if you're honestly wrestling with those issues and your faith then you may want to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are even truly Christian. WWJD? I don't think the answer is discriminate and reinforce hate.

  • Name: Obama The Betrayer
    Date posted: 7/13/2009 7:47:00 PM
    Hometown: SF

    Comment:

    You're not wrestling, Mr. President. You're not doing ANYTHING. How many betrayals will it take from national Democrats before GLBT Americans wake up?

  • Name: Chris
    Date posted: 7/13/2009 4:08:00 AM
    Hometown: M1SK

    Comment:

    Obama is a poopie head.

  • Name: Craig Garver
    Date posted: 7/10/2009 3:37:00 PM
    Hometown: Tucson, AZ

    Comment:

    I know I'm always willing to submit to taking second class status as a citizen, suffer discrimination at work, all of that, whenever a politician is "wrestling" with his faith. That's the important thing, really? The politician's faith. Absolutely that's why I vote them in - so they can ignore the moral crisis they see before them, abandon the weak and traumatized, and overlook the hate and brutality while they "wrestle" with their faith. Isn't it great we all seem to belong to some other freak's screwed up church when it comes to public policy in a sectarian nation? Gotta love it.

  • Name: Frank
    Date posted: 7/9/2009 2:45:00 PM
    Hometown: New York City

    Comment:

    I wonder how Obama feels about slavery in the Bible, which is clearly allowed: However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT) As a gay Christian, I do not wreastle with this issue as I know that the Bible is wrong. Maybe our Prez needs to grow up.

  • Name: Charles
    Date posted: 7/9/2009 8:45:00 AM
    Hometown: Akron

    Comment:

    I feel very sorry for PJR. I would like to also apologize to all who have made comments here on this story, for my allowing this brain dead christian PJR to distract me from the headline. I won't be wasting anymore of my or your time with bantering about with it or him or her, whatever PJR is. Would anyone like to go with me to a christian site and spread hatred and ignorance there. Maybe we should be better than they are, and not stoop to their level.

  • Name: Lux_D
    Date posted: 7/8/2009 11:53:00 PM
    Hometown: B-More

    Comment:

    to PJ.... WOW!!!!! How much Kool Aid DID you drink?!?!? Wait, don't tell me....your previous post says it all.......A LOT!!!!!!!!! Hope you and Mother T are really happy together roasting s'mores with the fundies, the nazis, and the jehova's witnesses. Good times (insert sarcasm here).

  • Name: PJR
    Date posted: 7/8/2009 8:16:00 PM
    Hometown: Michigan

    Comment:

    Charles you simply are misguided due to a lack of intelligence. First, condoms do spread HIV/AIDS. The failur rate of condoms in anal sex insures it with typical sexual activity, or else you're defacto practicing a form of semi abstinence, thus the Universal (Catholic) Church's take is universally 100% correct! Then Let's take Mother Teresa's "suffer" for instance. There's suffering not of your own cause (sickness, war, etc.) and suffering of your own design (sacrifice, selflessness). Mother T was talking of the second, which can even happen as a result of conditions of the fist, the 2nd selfless sacrifice though only that which indeed brings you closer to God. You need to ponder what my saintly Mother was correct about when she said, "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!"

  • Name: Roger Burr
    Date posted: 7/8/2009 6:19:00 PM
    Hometown: Marble Hill, MO

    Comment:

    'Wrestling with his faith??!! If you ask me; someones 'Karma' needs to run over Obamas 'Dogma'.

  • Name: John
    Date posted: 7/8/2009 5:15:00 PM
    Hometown: New York,NY

    Comment:

    I am with you Shawn

 PREVIOUS 1 2 3 4 5  ... NEXT  


More Online Only
  • Commentary What Marriage in Maine Meant for Me

    Dana Hernandez is a straight white married mother of two young children. But in campaigning for No on 1 and reporting Election Night outcomes for Advocate.com, defeat hit her like a ton of bricks.

  • Marriage Equality Video Content Flag Terri White Stages Her Leather Encore

    Last year, acclaimed stage performer Terri White was homeless and living in a public park. On Sunday, she and her partner held a leather-themed commitment ceremony onstage following her triumphant Broadway turn in Finian’s Rainbow. 

  • Music Ghost Story

    Out singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile discusses working with her childhood mentor, coming out publicly, and joining next year's Lilith Fair.

  • News View From Washington: GOP Upheaval

    Now that the only pro-marriage equality candidate in New York's 23rd Congressional district, Republican Dede Scozzafava, has dropped out of the race, Tuesday's election holds any number of political lessons for both the GOP and the LGBT community.

  • Books Hot Sheet: Ditto Knocking 'Em Dead

    This week might not bring anything to the screen other than a Boondock Saints sequel, but there are plenty of reasons to sit at home on the couch or head to your local concert venue.

  • News Features Sailor Speaks Out

    Sailor Joseph Rocha endured years of hazing until he spoke out — then he was discharged for revealing his homosexuality. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old is itching to suit back up.

  • Music Rainbow High

    Busy Broadway heartthrob, gay rights activist, and former Advocate coverboy Cheyenne Jackson chats about his Finian’s Rainbow revival, his politically charged cabaret CD, and laying around in his underpants (pic on page five).

  • Television Another Tough Broad

    After being outed by a Nazi and locking lips with a hook-up three times in one episode, Christine Woods's tough-talking FBI agent Janis Hawk on ABC's FlashForward might just be prime time's best gay offering — who isn't in Glee club, that is.

  • Books Video Content Flag In Sickness and in Health

    Mary Cappello’s memoir Called Back takes readers on a white-knuckle journey through the experience of cancer treatment in America — especially disorienting to navigate as a woman and a lesbian.

  • Books An American Crime

    Best-selling novelist Patricia Cornwell made headlines last week when she filed suit against a New York investment firm for losing $40 million of her money. But she'd much rather talk about her new book, hate-crimes legislation, and Angelina Jolie.

  • Comedy Gilded Lily

    After conquering Broadway, movies, and television, out funny lady Lily Tomlin prepares for the final frontier — Las Vegas.

  • Entertainment News Ricky Martin, No Shirt and a Baby

    Ricky Martin knows how to get the camera's attention. Take a look at the many pictures of Ricky uploaded to his Twitter account in the past three months, always shirtless, frequently carrying one (or both) of his babies.

  • Television Fresh Blood

    With True Blood a bona-fide cultural phenomenon, producer Alan Ball offers tantalizing hints about what to expect on season 3.

Most Popular Stories