The World Bank has taken to funding one of those anti-homosexuality groups that claim that not only are homosexuals not born that way, but that they can 'cure' people they claim are merely suffering from a 'sexual identity crisis,' caused by - among other things - the environment.
If that weren't enough cause for alarm, the group being funded by World Bank, PFOX, has direct ties to one of the attendees of the Uganda conference that led to that nation's bill calling for death as a punishment for homosexuality.
At the end of my diary, I hope you will take a moment to please sign the petition calling upon the World Bank to end this sponsorship.
MetroWeekly:
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays – PFOX – will soon be able to say that its programming is supported by funding provided to it by the World Bank.
As part of the World Bank's efforts to ''strengthen communities,'' the Community Outreach Program coordinates an annual workplace-giving campaign that includes World Bank matching funds given to various community groups and international nonprofits. Depending on the level of employee participation, the bank's matching funds are either 50 percent or 100 percent of the employee donations.
For the first time, the World Bank's 2010-2011 Community Connections Campaign will include PFOX immediately above Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) on its list of eligible organizations, a fact confirmed Wednesday evening by a World Bank spokesperson.
...snip...
PFOX supports so-called ''conversion'' therapy – by which people who identify as gay attempt to become ex-gay – and the National Association for Reparative Therapy (NARTH), specifically.
The website for PFOX while claiming 'change is possible' also tries to boast that their group 'seeks tolerance for all.'
The fact is that PFOX is an eliminationist group, and its former president, Richard Cohen, now runs the International Healing Foundation that we heard so much about from MSNBC's Rachel Maddow.
Cohen protégé Caleb Lee Brundidge was one of three American anti-gay activists participating at a conference in Kampala which led to Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill that calls for punishments, including death, for 'offenses' related to homosexuality. That's their brand of 'tolerance.'
Here's a clip from Rachel's show that discusses Cohen's International Healing Foundation's involvement in Uganda's 'Kill the Gays Bill':
Now that I've refreshed your memories on exactly what this group is, and its players, won't you please consider signing this petition calling upon the World Bank to stop funding PFOX?
http://www.pageoneq.com/...
Thanks for reading, and please pass this on.
-Diane (Desi) Sweet
Your former Raw Story senior editor