inclusion

Sept. 1 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV confirmed his intent to include LGBTQ parishioners within the Catholic Church ahead of their planned Holy Year pilgrimage to Vatican City.

The pope met editor and author the Rev. James Martin of New York for 30 minutes and said he intends to continue Pope Francis‘ policy of inclusion for all, the National Catholic Reporter reported Monday.

Pope Francis refused to judge and expel a gay priest in 2013 and afterward allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.

Francis did not change the Catholic Church’s policy of teaching parishioners that homosexual acts are “disordered,” though.

Martin co-founded Outreach, which is a Catholic ministry that promotes LGBTQ inclusion, and will participate in the Holy Year pilgrimage to Vatican City on Friday and Saturday.

An estimated 1,200 people are expected to participate in the pilgrimage, which is not sponsored by the Vatican.

Leo and Martin met in the library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, where the Pope clarified his position of inclusion for LGBTQ church members.

The pontiff’s position was in doubt after he criticized what he called the “homosexual lifestyle” in 2012 while serving the church and was still known as the Rev. Robert Prevost.

After being elevated to a cardinal in 2023, Prevost told Catholic News Service he did not oppose Pope Francis’ inclusion of members due to the choices that they make in their personal lives.

He confirmed the Catholic Church’s policy regarding homosexuality had not changed.

Leo also said church leaders were “looking to be more welcoming and more open and to say all people are welcome in the church,” the Catholic News Service reported.

Ann Summers is standing up against anti-trans hate by doubling down on their inclusive store policies and practices.

Over the last few years, the LGBTQIA+ community, especially our trans and non-binary siblings, have become the target of conservative political figures and hateful bigots.

From the 47th president of the United States introducing harmful executive orders that restrict gender-affirming care and ban trans people from participating in sports, to the UK Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, the existence of trans and non-binary people is being continually questioned, undermined and threatened.

Anti-trans sentiment has also gone beyond the political sphere, with it slowly infiltrating the media and retail industry.

Earlier this month, Marks & Spencer came under fire after they apologised to a mother and her daughter for an interaction they had with an employee, whom they claimed was “obviously trans.”

During the alleged exchange, the employee in question approached the pair, who were in the clothing department to schedule a bra fitting, and asked if they needed any help, per The Telegraph.

In response to the complaint, Marks & Spencer released an apology stating that they were “truly sorry” over the “distress” caused by the interaction.

The company also told The Scottish Sun that their bra fitting service was only for “female customers” before adding that they meant “biological females.”

M&S’s response was immediately slammed by LGBTQIA+ activists, allies, and customers, with many lodging complaints about the company’s handling of the situation and its lack of support for the staff member involved.  

While anti-trans rhetoric seems to be around every corner, there are a handful of businesses that have outwardly expressed their continued support for the trans community, such as Ann Summers.

In a statement shared on Reddit by a former employee of the lingerie chain, the company’s customer service branch affirmed that “inclusivity, support and dignity for all people, regardless of gender identity or expression, are core values for Ann Summers.”

“Our commitment is that every customer and staff member is welcomed, respected and supported. We believe that all people, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, should be treated with dignity and respect,” they continued.

“Our inclusion policies reflect that, and we proudly serve and support transgender individuals as part of our services and team. We understand the importance of language, empathy, and creating safe spaces.”

The department also informed the individual that Ann Summers staff training covers the definition of an LGBTQIA+ ally and applies the principle to their bra fitting services, hiring practices, and day-to-day workplace culture.

“Please rest assured that Ann Summers is committed to maintaining an inclusive and affirming environment for all members of the LGBTQ+ community. We are proud of the diversity and compassion our community stands for.”

Ann Summers also confirmed their trans inclusive policies in a statement to Pink News, adding that their bra fitting services and dressing rooms are “available to anyone who wishes to use them.”

This isn’t the first time the lingerie and sex toy company has expressed support for the trans community.

In 2021, the executive chair of the company, Jacqueline Gold, told The Times that trans people were “absolutely welcome.”

“We want to support them. We want to empower them. We want to make them feel comfortable. Our changing rooms are open to transgender [individuals],” she exclaimed.

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court said Thursday the Trump administration may cancel hundreds of health research grants that involve diversity, equity and inclusion or gender identity.

The justices granted an emergency appeal from President Trump’s lawyers and set aside a Boston’s judge order that blocked the canceling of $783 million in research grants.

The justices split 5-4. Chief Justice John G. Roberts joined the court’s three liberals in dissent and said the district judge had not overstepped his authority.

The court’s conservative majority has repeatedly sided with the administration and against federal judges in disputes over spending and staffing at federal agencies.

In the latest case, the majority agreed that Trump and his appointees may decide on how to spend health research funds allocated by Congress.

Upon taking office in January, Trump issued an executive order “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”

A few weeks later, the acting director of the National Institutes of Health said the agency would no longer fund “low-value and off-mission research programs, including but not limited to studies based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender identity.”

More than 1,700 grants were canceled.

Trump’s lawyers told the court NIH had terminated grants to study “Buddhism and HIV stigma in Thailand”; “intersectional, multilevel and multidimensional structural racism for English- and Spanish-speaking populations”; and “anti-racist healing in nature to protect telomeres of transitional age BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] for health equity.”

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and his counterparts from 15 Democratic-led states had sued to halt what they called an “unprecedented disruption to ongoing research.” They were joined by groups of researchers and public health advocates.

The state attorneys said their public universities were using grant money for “projects investigating heart disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, alcohol and substance abuse, mental-health issues, and countless other health conditions.”

They said NIH had terminated a grant for a University of California study examining how inflammation, insulin resistance, and physical activity affect Alzheimer’s disease in Black women, a group with higher rates and a more aggressive profile of the disease.

Also terminated they said was a University of Hawaiʻi study that aimed to identify genetic and biological risk factors for colorectal cancer among Native Hawaiians, a population with increased incidence and mortality rates of that disease.

In June, the Democratic state attorneys won a ruling from U.S. District Judge William G. Young, a Reagan appointee. He said the sudden halt to research grants violated a federal procedural law because it was “arbitrary” and poorly explained.

He said Trump had required agencies “to focus on eradicating anything that it labels as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”), an undefined enemy.” He said he had tried and failed to get a clear definition of DEI and what it entailed.

When the 1st Circuit Court refused to lift the judge’s order, Trump’s Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer appealed to the Supreme Court in late July.

He noted the justices in April had set aside a similar decision from a Boston-based judge who blocked the new administration’s canceling of education grants.

The solicitor general argued that Trump’s order rescinded an executive order from President Biden in 2021 that mandated “an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda” and instructed federal agencies to “allocate resources to address the historic failure to invest sufficiently, justly, and equally in underserved communities.”

He said the new administration decided these DEI-related grants “do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness.”

MasterChef is returning tonight with hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode as its presenters, despite the pair being recently fired from the BBC One series following an investigation

MasterChef fans are furious that former hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode are included in tonight’s episode of the BBC programme. The duo were recently axed from the series for different reasons after Wallace was initially under investigation over complaints made about his behaviour.

Wallace was axed from the series after law firm Lewis Silkin upheld 45 out of 85 complaints against him of inappropriate behaviour. While the 60-year-old has admitted to using inappropriate language at times, he denies the more serious allegations. Meanwhile, co-host Torode did not have his contract renewed with Banijay UK, who make MasterChef, after he was alleged to have used racist language amid an investigation into his former co-star’s behaviour.

He claimed he had no memory of making the comment and denies it ever happened. It comes after reports Gregg Wallace is trying to ‘earn a living’ after MasterChef exit amid ‘battle every day’.

READ MORE: Gregg Wallace and John Torode’s distance on first MasterChef episode since double axeREAD MORE: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace ‘ruins’ chance of redemption after ‘slipping at first hurdle’

While the duo have been axed from the programme, they are still featuring in tonight’s episode of MasterChef, much to the disappointment of fans.

They rushed to social media to express their anger as they threatened to boycott the series for showing the two hosts on our screens this evening.

One user said on X/Twitter: “The decision to screen MasterChef tonight is unforgivable. There was no need to show this next series on BBC when they could’ve just streamed it on iPlayer and people who wanted to watch it would still have been able to. We will switch BBC off.”

“I hope no one watches #MasterChef #BBC,” said one user along with an angry face emoji. One added: “ou shouldn’t be showing it either. Poor decision Mr Davie. I think your days are numbered.”

Another fan was convinced: “#MasterChef will contain some type of message this evening or it would have been pulled.”