Pope Francis faced calls to overturn the Catholic Church’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people when he held talks with LGBTQ+-rights activists at the Vatican, Reuters reported. The 80-minute meeting—held privately at the guesthouse where the pope lives—included a Catholic sister who works with queer people, a member of the transgender community and a U.S. medical doctor who helps run a clinic providing gender-affirming hormonal care for adults. “I really wanted to share with Pope Francis about the joy that I have being a transgender Catholic person,” Michael Sennett, a trans man from Boston who took part in the meeting, told Reuters. The meeting with around a dozen activists happened six months after the Vatican’s doctrinal office “firmly rejected” gender-affirming care, saying it “risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
Italy’s parliament made it illegal for couples to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy—a project of conservative Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party that activists say is meant to target same-sex partners, according to CNN. The upper house Senate voted into law a bill proposed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party by 84 votes to 58; the lower house approved it last year. The legislation extends a surrogacy ban that has been in Italy since 2004 to those who go to countries such as the United States or Canada, where it is legal, imposing jail terms of up to two years and fines of up to €1 million ($1.1 million).
Poland’s government has published two draft bills to legalize same-sex civil unions in the country, TVP World reported. If passed into law, the bills would allow both same- and opposite-sex couples to form legally recognized civil partnerships. Poland Minister for Equality Katarzyna Kotula said on social media, “It’s official! The draft laws on registered partnerships, which were discussed with non-governmental organizations, have been sent for public and inter-ministerial consultations. This is a very important day for me, because I am handing over to you the result of many months of work from our entire team.” Civil partnerships would, among other things, allow couples to jointly own property and other assets.
Canadian queer twin music duo Tegan and Sara ‘s 2004 indie-rock statement So Jealous (and Jackie Mittoo’s 1970s reggae classic Macka Fat) received the 2024 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designation, per Billboard Canada. The prize honours albums released before the Polaris Music Prize launched in 2006 and acts somewhat like a hall of fame for great Canadian albums. And in other Tegan and Sara-related news, they are the focus of a new documentary (The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, now on Hulu) that delves into a disturbing chapter of their lives, per The Pride LA. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, the film uncovers a catfish scheme that lasted more than a decade and that targeted Tegan, her fans and the LGBTQ+ community.
A gay couple was beaten and paraded in public In Nigeria because of their sexual orientation, The Washington Blade reported. In a video clip shared by Portharcourt Specials on X, the couple—who appeared half-naked—were being insulted and slapped on the back, with one showing rivulets of blood on his back. Although consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized in Nigeria and punishable by death on some states, many Nigerians viewed the attack against the couple as distasteful, arguing rapists and pedophiles don’t face the same treatment. This follows a lynch mob attacking and killing a gay couple in Cameroon in late September—because the twosome were having sex inside a car that was visible to the public, according to Metro Weekly.
Four gay prisoners at New Bell Prison in Douala, Cameroon, are malnourished—but they want much more than food, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. They were among 13 people arrested and detained during a raid on the offices of the anti-AIDS and LGBTQ+-rights organization Alternatives Cameroon on Sept. 30. While the other nine arrestees were either released on bail or freed without facing any charges, four detainees remain in prison awaiting a court hearing scheduled for Nov. 13. Journalist and LGBTQ+-rights activist Jean Jacques Dissoke proposed that Project Not Alone (Projet Pas Seul) should provide them with food, and bought them food, cooking oil and soap. The men—Denis Watonawa, Oumarou Ousmanou, Fotie Zidane and Hermine Ngo Ndaptie—were appreciative, but said they would prefer to receive financial assistance for their needs rather than food packages, saying they have not received food assistance in prison.
The estranged boyfriend of 29-year-old Janne Puhakka—Finland’s first openly gay pro hockey player—allegedly confessed to gunning down his beau with a hunting rifle just weeks after their relationship ended, per The New York Post. The ex-hockey pro, who previously starred on the Finnish version of The Traitors reality show, recently moved out after the relationship ended but had remained “somewhat involved” with former partner Rolf Nordmo, 66, investigators said. Nordmo was initially arrested for manslaughter but the charge has since been upgraded to murder. Also, Finnish network Nelonen has delayed showing the season-two finale in the wake of Puhakka’s passing, per The Wrap.
The ILGA-Europe Annual Conference—the largest LGBTQ+ conference of its kind in Europe—brought more than 400 LGBTI-rights activists from across Europe and Central Asia to Bucharest, Romania, according to the organization’s website. Co-organized by ILGA-Europe member organizations from Romania, Accept and MozaiQ Associations, the theme of this year’s annual conference was “The Call to Courage.” ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel said, in part, “The European Courts have made two judgements saying Romania should recognise both same-sex partnerships and gender recognition that have taken place in another EU country. It is time that Romania caught up with the majority of the European Union and implemented these judgements. Romania also needs to put in place legislation to recognise partnerships and rainbow families.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) awarded $27.5 million to the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact (CGHPI) at Georgetown University Medical Center to expand its ongoing work in Haiti to address HIV/AIDS, according to News-Medical.net. Approximately 150,000 Haitians live with the disease. Beginning in 2020, with funding from the PEPFAR/CDC, CGHPI team members engaged and facilitated the return to care of 6,000 people living with HIV, and established 57 client-centered drug-dispensing points throughout the country, giving patients greater access to effective antiretroviral treatment.
In Canada, Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe said banning “biological boys” from sharing change rooms with “biological girls” would be his party’s first order of business if it’s re-elected on Oct. 28, Global News noted. “If this legislation had existed when I was a kid, I would not have survived high school and that’s the fact of the matter,” trans advocate Blake Tait, 24, responded. “School was my one safe space, the only place where I felt I could be authentic.” New Democratic Party Leader Carla Beck accused Moe of stoking fear and division with voters and making vulnerable kids more at risk. Moe has said the policy promise was a response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.
Mexico will host 13 matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and it is now pretty certain that “homophobia will be present” in stadiums, according to Outsports. That is the opinion of Rafael Villanueva, the director general of DIDESEX, the country’s foremost LGBTQ sports inclusion organization. One of Mexico’sWorld Cup 2026 host city is Guadalajara, where the national team beat the United States 2-0 in a friendly match recently; the anti-gay “puto” slur was chanted by home fans within minutes of kick-off, according to a report from the AP.
Ugandan musician, songwriter and costume designer Papa Cidy, (birth name: Hamidu Sekyeru) has come out as gay, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. Cidy, a UK resident, made the revelation in a Facebook post and later in a TikTok livestream with social-media influencer Peng Peng. “Am tired of hiding myself, it’s time to be out. Pastor Kayanja ‘ebyaffe obimanyi’ (you know our things) Miracle Center Cathedral,” the singer wrote, adding the rainbow flag emoji at the end. It was not exactly clear why Cidy tagged Pastor Robert Kayanja of the Miracle Center Cathedral in his post; the born-again cleric has been accused by his fellow pastors of “sodomizing young men,” which he has consistently denied.
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has barred trans women from the top categories of women’s domestic cricket, PinkNews reported. “In reaching its conclusion, the ECB has considered the interaction between fairness, safety and inclusion, all of which are considered important,” the organization said in a statement. A detailed policy will reportedly be drafted over the coming months in consultation with stakeholders of the team sport, and be enforced in early 2025. Following a decision by World Aquatics, formally FINA, to essentially ban trans women from women’s competitive swimming events, endocrinologist Dr Ada Cheung clarified that experts don’t know if trans women have a biological advantage.
Germany detected its first case of the new mpox variant, the Robert Koch Institute for public health said—although it added that it viewed the risk to the wider population as low, Reuters noted. The results of more detailed testing showed on Oct. 18 that the 33-year-old patient had the clade 1b variant, a new form of the virus that is linked to a global health emergency declared by the World Health Organization in August. The patient in Germany is thought to have picked up the virus in an east African country. Also, two patients in Norway have been diagnosed with the mpox virus of the clade 2 variety—a less severe form of the clade 1b strain, per U.S. News & World Report.
The number of HIV diagnoses in the Netherlands is no longer falling and infections are on the rise among young men, NL Times reported. The share of diagnoses among young men who have sex with men increased, in particular. Between 2008 and 2020, the number of new HIV diagnoses decreased from about 1,200 to 434 per year; after that, the decline stagnated. Last year, 424 people found out that they were HIV-positive. According to the HIV Monitoring Foundation, that number could still rise due to a backlog in administration. Forty of the new diagnoses last year were boys and men between 15 and 24.
Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the song “Last Christmas,” Wham!, George Michael Entertainment and Sony Music announced the release of the Last Christmas 40th Anniversary EP, according to a press release. The EP will feature all the original 7” and 12” versions plus George Michael’s 2006 performance of “Last Christmas” at London’s Wembley Arena The EP will be available on limited edition 12” Snowflake white vinyl, 12” picture disc, 12” zoetrope picture disc, plus CD and digital on Dec. 13. Originally released by Wham! in December 1984, the six-time multi-platinum classic peaked at number one in 16 countries upon its release, and is officially the fourth highest-selling single of all time in the UK.
Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, 90, opened up about his relationships with male lovers throughout his life and shared intimate details of these special romances, according to Queerty. Talking with the Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, Armani talked about his first male crush that occurred while at summer camp: “I didn’t understand what it was. I didn’t distinguish between men and women at the time. It was just an attraction I felt, something beautiful: I couldn’t wait to be near him, to be touched. … I felt a huge connection.” Armani added, “I’ve never told anyone about this. It’s still a very emotional memory for me.” In the 1960s, Armani met architect Sergio Galeotti; they became business partners but were also in a relationship for more than a decade. In 1985, Galeotti died from complications due to AIDS—and Armani was devastated. For the last several decades, Armani has been with his collaborator Pantaleo Dell’Orco, the head of the men’s style office for all collections.
Canada’s Drag Race is debuting its fifth season on Thursday, Nov. 21, exclusively on WOW Presents Plus in the U.S. and select territories worldwide (day-and-date with its local airing on Crave in Canada), per a media release. Brooke Lynn Hytes, Brad Goreski, and Traci Melchor return as resident judges, and the 11 competitors will include Helena Poison, Jaylene Tyme, Makayla Couture, Minhi Wang, Perla, Sanjina DaBish Queen, Tara Nova, The Virgo Queen, Tiffany Ann Co., Uma Gahd and Xana. All are from Vancouver or Toronto except for Nova (St. John’s) and Gahd (Montreal).
Former Nickelodeon Latin America star Carlo Arrechea has come out about his sexuality, saying he just wants to be “who the f*ck I want to be and live as my authentic self,” Instinct Magazine noted. Arrechea formerly starred as Sebastian in the series Grachi and eventually joined CBS’ S.W.A.T. reboot, where he became a fan favorite as Gio Torres. He told Out, “As an actor, I bear the responsibility of representing the diverse tapestry of the human experience. By sharing my story, I hope to light a path for others who feel lost or unseen.”
London Records celebrate the 40th anniversary of the UK band Bronski Beat’s groundbreaking debut album, The Age of Consent, across 2CD, 2LP, deluxe 4CD/DVD and digital formats, per a press release. The announcement stated, “First released in 1984, ‘The Age of Consent’ bravely addressed the struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ+ communities at a time when such discussions were often silenced. Fast-forward 40 years, and while some milestones such as equal marriage have been won, the fight for true equality throughout the LGBTQ+ community continues.”
The four pools for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England have been confirmed, setting the stage for the matchups in what promises to be the largest global celebration of women’s rugby, scheduled for Aug. 22-Sept. 27, 2025, a World Rugby media release noted. Pool A will include England, Australia, the United States and Samoa; Pool B will feature Canada, Scotland, Wales and Fiji; New Zealand (the reigning champion), Ireland, Japan and Spain will make up Pool C; and Pool D will include France, Italy, South Africa and Brazil. England will host the tournament.
So You Think You Can Dance is returning to Poland after last airing there in 2015, per Deadline. This marks the first remake deal for the format since Sony Pictures Television took over distribution upon acquiring a majority share of production company Industrial Media, which owned So You Think You Can Dance creator 19 Entertainment, in 2022.
British singer Robbie Williams told Deadline that Liam Payne’s tragic death had hit him hard—and Williams called for action around the way society handles fame and celebrity. He stated, “Nothing seems to change and if isn’t me, then who?… I am the problem if I do nothing. We are the problem if we don’t.” Williams also praised queer singer-songwriter Chappell Roan, who has criticized the way celebrity artists are exposed. Williams—who mentored Payne and his One Direction bandmates on The X-Factor in 2010—has an upcoming film called Better Man that depicts the pressures of Williams’ early fame and his painful downward spiral with addiction.
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