Pope Francis’ record of LGBTQ+ outreach goes beyond “blessings” for same-sex couples: The world’s top Catholic pope has also welcomed transgender people to be baptized and to become godfathers and godmothers, and criticized countries that declare homosexuality a crime, writes David Crary of the Associated Press.
First black female leader of American Institute of Architects inaugurated: Kimberly Dowdell, of Chicago and formerly of Detroit, is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and aims to focus on “climate change and equity.” (Archinect)
Iowa among states with smallest percentage of LGBTQ+ people: With just over 113,000 LGBTQ+ people estimated to live in Iowa, totalling 4.7 percent of its population, the Midwestern state joins North Dakota and five southern states on the Williams Institute’s list of states with the smallest queer populations. (Advocate)
(photo courtesy Mata Amritanandamayi through Wikimedia Commons and shows Pope Francis with 10 other world leaders signing a resolution against human trafficking in 2014.)
