NATIONAL NEWS: Pope Francis Disappoints With Trans Comments

Pope Francis blesses a baby during his Philadelphia trip in September 2015.

Pope Francis makes discouraging remarks about trans youth identity and same-sex marriage.

Pope Francis has disappointed members of the Catholic church on matters pertaining to LGBTQ relations in his recent letter Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”), which covers marriage and the family. In his writing, he supports the College of Pediatricians‘ recent claims that “conditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse.” “The young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created,” Pope Francis states. He further asserts that if individuals believe they have “absolute power over our own bodies,” it could potentially imply that “we enjoy absolute power over creation.” The 261-page document also included statements that there are “absolutely no grounds” for sincerely acknowledging “homosexual unions.” All of this comes as another reminder that Pope Francis is not as socially progressive as many followers had initially hoped.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that unprotected gay sex can spread the Zika virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially announced that gay men who have unprotected anal sex can contract the Zika virus if their partner is infected from it. This comes after the government agency revealed in a February report that such a situation had occurred in Dallas. It is still unclear whether the virus can be spread through oral sex; one report from France has confirmed transmission of the virus between members of a heterosexual couple who had unprotected vaginal sex without ejaculation and oral sex with ejaculation, and the virus is present in both semen and saliva. Additional cases of sexual transmission have been documented in the U.S. since February, but the sexual orientations of the patients have not been released.

Alexandra Judd was given a Bible verse from Leviticus instead of a tip while on the job.

North Carolina waitress Alexandra Judd said she was “infuriated” and “hurt” by the remarks two patrons wrote on the tip line of their bill after her service. The lesbian waitress was given the infamous verse from Leviticus 20:13 that declares “if a man has sexual relationship with a man as one does with a woman, it is an abomination. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” At the end of the receipt, they also wrote “Praying for you!” In a now-removed Facebook post, Judd posted an image of receipt her wall and replied “I don’t care what anyone says, this is the most disrespectful thing you can do” followed by “Don’t pray for me darling, I have everything I could possibly want and need in my life.” Judd has since then received an outpouring of support from various newsgroups and social media.