What does the world think of homosexuality then? It’s a crazy mixed-up place. Earlier this week, we had a sitting Conservative MP tell the world that he is gay. This, on top of the fact that the Tories also seem to be supporting the bill on gay marriage[previous comments on this subject]. It’s about time the Conservatives accepted that there are gay men and women in their rank and file. It’s just a shame it’s taken so long for one of them to publicly stand up and say so (mind you, it’s also a shame they have to say so). Still, Hugo Young makes the most sense on the subject. Then we have a TV programme playing the camp-card for comedy – I know this is going to be unpleasant (Corrie’s Les Battersby to claim he’s gay). Lots of gay visibility then. So why does the church continue to live in another place on the subject? Catholics should boycott gay commitment ceremonies, is the new message. What is a boy to think these days?

Hugo Young in The Guardian:

Almost everything you need to know about the Tory party is encapsulated in the revelation that Alan Duncan is gay. A banal detail is elevated into first place in the news. A dreary social commonplace is treated by both the party and the media on a par with the discovery that the Pope has a secret wife. How much further behind the curve can an organisation get than feeling obliged to declare its 21st-century relevance by means of this amazing item? How devoid of content does a party have to be if the best way it can think of proving its openness, its revolutionary departure from type, is by showing its tolerance for Alan Duncan being gay?

On this day…