A conference on gay-to-straight therapy has been forced to seek a new venue after a Polish university withdrew its support.
The event, featuring notorious NARTH therapist Joseph Nicolosi, was due to take place on September 16 at the Medical School Foundation in Poznan, Poland. The institution cancelled the event before the contract was signed, however, following criticism by the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. A front-page story pointed to the American Psychological Association (APA) resolution stating there was a lack of evidence to support the claims of reparative therapists to reverse or cure homosexuality.
The university said hosting the conference “identifies [reparative therapy] with its organization.”
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
All these alignments with ex-gay reparative therapists are tumbling down like a stack of bricks…..it really does “get better.”
Poland is a heavily Catholic country, right?
Fertile ground for NARTH’s rhetoric and backwardness.
Good for this university that they saw reason and favored the legitimate standard carved by the APA, rather than NARTH’s ignoring or criticizing that standard.
Faith should be able to reconcile with medical and psychiatric progress and the kinds of advancements it’s made in our understanding of individual freedom and self reliance. First and foremost, no credible psychiatrist or psychologist would support laws (or social stigma) that keep an otherwise self reliant and responsible individual from doing so, regardless of their clinical issues.
After all, the clinically mentally ill can marry, and have children…even if their mental illness is genetic.
So NARTH’s agenda, as far as civil rights and gay people is concerned, contradicts even that reality. And the inalienable freedom that even those with incurable or chronic issues, are allowed to love and marry as they will.
But a good doctor, knows when there is an illness present that requires a cure at all.
And in this, Nicolosi is spectacularly incompetent.
On a related note…
I know this is old news, but I found this article insightful. It’s (PDF) from 2004, when Richard Cohen went over to Poland to spew his anti-gay shtick. I always thought he was just stupid an oblivious to the dumb way he comes across, but some of this is just evil.
Would you like a job or a scapegoat?
Religious supremacists must be rubbing their hands with glee in anticipation of this election cycle. They’ve got at least FOUR scapegoats to choose from — Gays, Latinos, Muslims, and most importantly, Barack Obama’s skin color.
Maybe they should introduce a bill for the healing of cancer first.
Why stop at incarceration, out of rope?
That’s right, (@3%) all 210 million of us secretly meet on Wednesdays to discuss the advantages and pitfalls of our soon-to-be, world domination.
And thus, only then should they be treated humanely.
The Cohen article does not speak fondly of the paper in regard to their handling the issue. Fortunately they’ve changed for the better since ‘04.
From the Lifesite article:
“they use [religion] to confirm a pre-existing hatred of otherness”
Naturally.
There are countries, and it hasn’t been that long in our own, since a gay person could be arrested just for associating with each other. Young people in schools in our country are still denied gay/straight alliances with the specific goal of keeping them from actually understanding each other and being allies on any level. Regardless that lack of such support has proven fatal because of assaults and suicides.
Yet, all over the media religious homophobes are relentless in their complaint that it’s THEY who are being persecuted or at risk of it for whatever equality gay people receive.
It is a foul libel that the gay community’s call for justice and freedom, is called “promoting the homosexual lifestyle.”
It’s a direct contradiction in terms and hypocrisy when religious conservatives assert that a destructive chosen behavior doesn’t deserve Constitutional protections, while the chosen religious behavior has a long, cruel, destructive and bloody history of dominance behind it. Converts, up to as recently as early 20th century America among the Native American culture, wasn’t won through hearts and music, but self righteousness, forced promotion and aggrandizement at the expense of human and civil rights. I know, such abuses were suffered by my NA grandmothers.
To say nothing of Christian support for Jim Crow.
There is a lot to answer to when it comes to CONTINUING to interfere with the individual protections and freedoms of gay people.
Richard Cohen is an unlicensed quack. As is Marcus Bachman. There IS no licensing for ex gay therapy and especially for the kind of methodology used.
The only people of faith that impress me, utilize faith for themselves in which to have personal discipline and commitment to treating another person AS a person equally. I’m all good with the kind of faith that inspires beautiful art, and personal peace.
But once you start pointing fingers in unfair, hypocritical judgement and want the government to abuse a distinct minority FOR you, game over.
You’re not a person OF real faith, but a person using faith to do damage to others.
Just to say, Regan….your post is specifically great! Thank you for saying it so well.
Thank you, Jacquie for your kind compliment! :0 )