International
Biden marks Pride Month with memorial, LGBTQ envoy
AFP
Joe Biden marked Pride Month with joyful optimism and somber reflection Friday as the US president named an LGBTQ rights envoy and created a national memorial marking the deadliest tragedy to hit the country’s gay community.
“Pride is back at the White House,” Biden told a group of gay rights activists, transgender military service members and youth, and officials during a commemoration of the month that celebrates gay life in America.
He appointed advocate Jessica Stern as special envoy for LGBTQI+ rights, in a move aimed at increasing global awareness and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Currently the executive director of OutRight Action International — a group which advocates for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people around the world — Stern in her new role will be attached to the State Department.
She will play a “vital” role working with like-minded governments and civil society organizations to uphold dignity and equality for everyone, the White House said in a statement.
The LGBTQ envoy position, created under president Barack Obama, was left vacant under his successor Donald Trump.
While Biden expressed his own pride in leading what he called the most pro-LGBTQ-equality administration in US history, “our work is unfinished,” he said.
“When a same-sex couple can be married in the morning, but denied a lease in the afternoon for being gay, something’s still wrong.”
Biden was joined by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
“There have been great leaps forward in this country,” Buttigieg said.
Washington, United States | AFP | Friday 6/25/2021 – 16:41 UTC-6 | 443 words
UPDATES WITH PRIDE MONTH EVENTS AT WHITE HOUSE, ADDS QUOTES
Joe Biden marked Pride Month with joyful optimism and somber reflection Friday as the US president named an LGBTQ rights envoy and created a national memorial marking the deadliest tragedy to hit the country’s gay community.
“Pride is back at the White House,” Biden told a group of gay rights activists, transgender military service members and youth, and officials during a commemoration of the month that celebrates gay life in America.
He appointed advocate Jessica Stern as special envoy for LGBTQI+ rights, in a move aimed at increasing global awareness and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Currently the executive director of OutRight Action International — a group which advocates for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people around the world — Stern in her new role will be attached to the State Department.
She will play a “vital” role working with like-minded governments and civil society organizations to uphold dignity and equality for everyone, the White House said in a statement.
The LGBTQ envoy position, created under president Barack Obama, was left vacant under his successor Donald Trump.
While Biden expressed his own pride in leading what he called the most pro-LGBTQ-equality administration in US history, “our work is unfinished,” he said.
“When a same-sex couple can be married in the morning, but denied a lease in the afternoon for being gay, something’s still wrong.”
Biden was joined by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
“There have been great leaps forward in this country,” Buttigieg said.
“But there are reminders everywhere about what it looks like to move backward, not just in shocking acts of violence like the Pulse shooting that this country now rightly commemorates, but in the everyday grind of politics as rights and equality come up for debate.”
Buttigieg was referring to Orlando’s Pulse gay nightclub, scene of a horrific attack in which 49 people were murdered by a gunman who swore allegiance to the Islamic State.
Biden declaring the Pulse location “hallowed ground,” earlier Friday signed into law a measure that designates the nightclub as a national memorial.
“Just over five years ago the Pulse nightclub, a place of acceptance and joy, became a place of unspeakable pain and loss,” Biden said. “We’ll never fully recover, but we’ll remember.”
The June 12, 2016 rampage shocked the nation and the LGBTQ community in the middle of pride month.
Congress unanimously passed the Pulse memorial bill, in a rare example of bipartisanship in Washington.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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